So I wrote my introductory post a couple of weeks ago and since then I have thought that due to Steemit's great payout system, that I would try to post regularly. I've always wanted to write blog posts more regularly, so this is perfect and let's get going! Now what you can expect from me will not necessarily have a fixed format or plan, I plan to write about things that I find interesting. I find a lot of things interesting, but major interests include politics, economics, fermented food, history, sociology, podcasts, football, Germany, Australia, Blockchain, Crypto and much more.
For today, however, Hippie Capitalism and whether blockchain is a place for hippie capitalists.
So what is hippie capitalism? I would define it as a mix of traditional capitalism (work hard make money and the ownership of ideas / things is more profitable than labour) and core ideas of the hippie movements from the 60s / 70s (love all humanity as equal, take care of nature and be conscious of the effect of your actions on others).
Blockchain started as a middle finger to the existing financial system in 2008, though did not seem to have the objective of completely revolutionising the existing economic system. Instead it has always appeared to me a systems for better organising, regulating and equitising our current capitalist system. (For a better historical outline, see this post: https://medium.com/the-mission/a-brief-history-of-blockchain-an-investors-perspective-e9b6605aad68)
Indeed what was and still is at the core of the original whitepaper is transparency and accountability, two things that traditional financial institutions often lack or at least appear to lack. And in the world of instagram, youtube and selfies, appearance matters.
So by having those two goals (accountability and transparency), blockchain appears as very appealing to hippie capitalists (whose chief goal is to profit without harming nature / other humans). This is also why I got interested in blockchain. Previously I have worked for some large financial institutions and in fact most people who met me years after university finished assumed that I would be an investment banker by now. I am still very attracted by the financial world (hence me slowly getting into crypto / blockchain), but the immorality of the systemic structures of existing institutions literally made me sick to my stomach. I know I am not the only one either ;).
Now, will blockchain be able to actually make our capitalist system more transparent and equitable?
I personally think it is already achieving these aims somewhat, because having created an alternative capital storage facility (crypto in most cases so far) it makes traditional institutions scared of capital fleeing , whilst at the same time this flight of capital draws media attention. This media attention in turn forces organisations to modify their behaviour (even if it is miniscule) as well as to consider the public's interest in blockchain / cryptocurrency.
To be clear, however, we are in still in the very embryonic stages of any possible change, but I also don't want to get on he bandwagon to say that blockchain will make everything perfect again. Firstly, things aren't and never were perfect and secondly, blockchain is just another human system and inevitably all human systems have weakness.
Therefore I think what we will see is a tempering of extreme capitalism (right now, with the highest wealth inequality for nearly 100 years), but also an absorption of blockchain by the system, with modifications.
This will in turn lead to only partial full implementation of blockchain, rendering it better than current systems of organising, but not ideal for hippie capitalists.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your feedback / comments.
William