Collectivism v Individualism with Robert Breedlove - WBD484

Robert Breedlove is a philosopher within the Bitcoin space. In
this interview, we discuss useful fictions used for collective
organisation, slavery as the violation of property rights,
Bitcoin changing the logic of violence, and the reality of an
anarcho-capitalist world.


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Cooperation across large groups is the basis for the rise and
evolution of human civilisation. As the historian Yuval Noah
Harari espouses, such cooperation has been enabled through the
exploitation of useful fictions (i.e. religion, national
identities) by elites throughout time. The rights of the
individual were crushed under the weight of the demands and
cohesiveness of the group.


A rebalancing of power between collectives and the individual
occurred during the enlightenment. It began with the development
of a theory of natural rights, where individuals were determined
to deserve access to "life, liberty, and estate (property)". The
French and American revolutions in the 18th Century were premised
on this belief.


A modern theory of universal human rights has developed since
WW2. And yet, many feel we still have a long way to go before we
achieve true liberty for the individual. Even the most open
democratic societies work under an implicit social contract,
where certain rights are foregone in exchange for political
order. Coercion and control are less explicit, but still
apparent.


So, what is the extent of the libertarian ideal? Is it an anarcho
(i.e. without a leader) capitalist state? Or, is a hierarchy of
power a necessary evil to thwart the chaos of natural law, which
Hobbes stated would result in human life being "solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish and short"? The problem has been that states
throughout history have tended to extend their control.


Maybe the question isn’t a binary choice between an inevitable
creep of state control over anarchy, but a balance that aims to
achieve the benefits of both approaches. In such a situation
individuals would need the power to ‘dethrone’ the ruler(s)
without resorting to violence. Does Bitcoin enable such a
balance?