[Series] Achieving financial independence with Steem 2 "Escaping the Salary Worker Lifestyle"
Steem Power as a means to an end
Steem and it's Steem Power are merely means to an end for those who are in pursuit of financial independence. Steem is a valuable tool politically, philosophically, and is an interesting experiment academically, but it's really at best just a social computation game to generate and curate quality content. To the participants in the game there are points which we measure in terms of vests, but these points have value because of the utility Steemit provides combined with the faith the participants put into it. The ideal of financial independence is based on the belief that freedom is possible and that financial freedom is desirable.
Some people say that Steem promotes anarcho-capitalism. In my opinion the Steemians who are crypto-anarchists are marginal. What Steem does promote is finanical freedom and this is a concept that crypto-anarchists are naturally acquainted with but it is not a concept exclusive to crypto-anarchists. In my opinion capitalism itself is just a tool to achieve some and, and in that respect I can only define myself as a pragmatist. I seek the best conequences for myself and all who care about me, regardless of ism, because in the end it's the outcome that matters.
In some cases capitalism produces subjectively better outcomes. When I introduced a certain few from Bitnation to Steemit it was not to promote "capitalism" or anarcho-capitalism. I introduced them to Steemit to attempt to share with them an opportunity which could help them achieve financial independence, and ultimately become financially free. Their political aspirations at least for me were secondary, as my intentions were (and still are), to help genuinely friendly people achieve the goal of financial independence through Steemit. What they do with that is left up to them and politics at least for me do not interfere with friendship.
Politics as a means to an end
Just as Steem is a means to an end, so are politics. Most people that I interact with do not live life as political robots. People care about political issues often because they care about other people. They usually want life to be better for themselves, and other people, and see politics as a means to an end. When politics become the end in itself then in my opinion it becomes problematic. If a particular political ideology is better, then it should be reflected in the lifestyles of the adherents who live it out. For this reason, if we are in the decentralized voluntary blockchain era, then each may feel free to try out their politics and really show what works and what doesn't.
But if the end is a better life for people, then looking at the tools objectively, we can see Steemit is creating a better life for people living under capitalism. This isn't to say the Steemit (or Bitcoin) models are the only models that can work, but it is to say that by looking at measurable results, people are now able to blog, have fun, and make a living for themselves on Steemit. Steemit is clearly superior to Reddit, Facebook and others which concentrate all wealth, which take value from user contributers and of course you end up with situations where homeless individuals have Facebook and Reddit accounts but no money to pay their cost of living.
Financial independence is a means to achieving liberty
Liberty is an end. People in capitalist societies have more liberty when they have more money and there is no way around this truism. In court, the individual who can afford a lawyer can literally lower their probability of loss of liberty in the most direct and literal sense of the word. Individuals who don't have a boss, who don't get coerced into working longer and longer hours without over time pay, who don't get told where to be, and made to be around people they don't like, there is a lot of value to having a liberated lifestyle. Unfortunately the only way to live that lifestyle in the United States in 2016 is through capitalism, and there is no way to avoid money if you want maximum liberty.
But it is also important to note that achieving maximum liberty doesn't always mean maximum money. The point is to have enough money that you can do whatever you want or need to do during your time alive. If money begins to get in the way of being free, or being able to enjoy life, then it's not "good money" anymore because it's no longer a means to an end. For example if you're sacrificing so much of your previous time to a job in order to make a little bit more money, or if you're sacrificing your happiness for money, then maybe money is getting in the way of what you really want to do? Money has to be a great enabler rather than a disabler.
How do you escape the salary worker lifestyle?
It's not easy but first it requires finding a new alternative lifestyle. At least one poster here that I know has achieved this, 