Bitcoin and Rothbard's Proposed Society

During the late 17th century, the anti-abolitionists would argue that society will not be able to function without slavery — a concept that was, at the time, institutionalized by the State and enforced by law. The forumla, it seems, is 'how will society function without [insert State function here]'?

Bitcoin has always been thought of, at least by its proponents, as disruptive technology that will change this mindset about government monopolized money and that, yes, society will continue to function even without fiat currency or a central bank. But it could actually go beyond that...

An article on CNBC sparked some really interesting conversations on the local Bitcoin PH Facebook community. It revolved around the blockchain and how this technology behind Bitcoin could potentially go beyond digital currency. And I quote: "[Bitcoin's blockchain technology has the] potential to greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for litigation and courts [and this] may be the most attractive feature of smart contracts," wrote Houman B. Shadab, co-director of New York Law School's Center for Business and Financial Law."

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And as much as there is still a lot of debate on whether these uses could exist with or without Bitcoin's utility as currency, the idea or possibility itself is what entices me.

As mentioned above, the anti-abolitionists who had no comprehension of modern farming technology would have been as silly as to argue that the cotton industry would die without slavery. It's this same kind of fear mongering that holds back statists today — some go as far as aruging that economies will crash and that society will be in chaos and destruction if its functions were to be abolished or transfered to the market (ie. money).

In Murray Rothbard's For A New Liberty, the latter part discussed how a society could function (even more efficiently, he argues) without the government's role in laws and courts. These functions are actually already available in the market through private arbitration. It's just that seeing emerging technologies like Bitcoin and the blockchain concept emphasizes even more that this kind of society is possible not just in principle.

There's really more to it than most of us know (even myself, actually). It goes to show that when disruptive technologies such as Bitcoin is allowed to flourish, it will lead to innovations and justify a freer, more peaceful, and more prosperous society.