The Bitcoin Awakening with John Vallis - WBD504

John Vallis is a Bitcoin podcaster who hosts Bitcoin Rapid Fire.
In this interview, we discuss what freedom means, parallels
between Bitcoin and religious values, living a meaningful life,
psychedelics and their importance, and a new civilisation centred
on truth.


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Bitcoin provides freedom. Financial freedom; freedom from
coercion; freedom of movement. But how should those who benefit
from Bitcoin use this freedom? Should they use it to fulfil their
own desires? Or are there higher values that Bitcoiners should
strive to attain? Should Bitcoiners draw back into their
citadels? Or, should they actively engage in trying to shape a
better world?


Such decisions will be influenced by the values such individuals
hold. In our fiat economy, self-interest is deemed to be the
principle that supports a functioning and prosperous society.
Institutionally driven moral codes have been supplemented by the
needs of the market. Religion has been replaced; prayer and faith
have given way to data and patterns.


It is assumed that science and rejection of the divine have
driven a more advanced society. And yet, ephemeral pursuits of
money and power seem to be the root of a lot of the problems we
face today. Some feel that more sophisticated behaviours were
displayed by previous civilisations: humans have previously been
more in tune with nature.


Psychedelics is thought to have played a part in this process.
Many cultures throughout history used psychedelic practices to
enable them to break away from their ego. This gave them a wider
perspective - a more holistic view of the world around them.


Bitcoin shows that current values in a fiat world are misaligned:
selfish short term pursuits are failing us; we have lost sight of
the truth. Could psychedelics hold the key to helping more people
to make that shift to see the fallacy of our current systems? Is
the loss of ego needed to determine how best to mould this new
world evolving around us?