For me, the "again" part has always held a sour note, from day one. I start with the issue that there is no "again," because there is no going back and we can "unknow" what we know... which makes it a dumb statement; like wishing we were back in "simpler times" of horses and carriages... it's a nice peaceful memory, but it's functionally irrelevant.
Then there's the issue of the rose-colored lenses that go with the passing of time. It's almost like "beer goggles for history."
You're exactly right that "good ideas don't require force," but there's a civic responsibility (in my opinion) that goes with that statement... namely that we're also accountable for thinking for ourselves and being socially/civicly involved. Unfortunately, that's where-- again, just my perception-- the Libertarian/Anarchist philosophy tends to fall apart, because it assumes a level of intelligence and engagement that many people neither care about nor particularly want, even if we show them it's a "better way" till we're blue in the face. So we end with "great ideology, almost impossible to implement."
But I am sort of wandering here... "great" is a highly individual and subjective thing; ask 100 people and you'd get 100 answers. So it's basically a "catchy slogan" that's functionally meaningless...
But hey, I could be entirely wrong about that!
That's a good critique, but I think it really hasn't been shown or demonstrated yet. Even with Dan leaving, I'm hopeful Steemit can play a role it showing people what it might look like with agorism, self-banking, smart contracts, secure communications, etc. Technology makes much of government obsolete.
Well, you may be right... and I like the way Steemit is a "soft sell" to get more mainstream people involved in something they'd mostly reject as "black box fringe dweller stuff."
To me, the best "pitch" here is that Steemit offers a return to more engaging "social blogging" for those who have grown tired of Facebook/twitter soundbytes, without deeper engagement. Then, as a fringe benefit, you also get introduced to the world of alt. economics and greater self-reliance. The average person on the street hears the word "anarchist" thinks of people dressed in black throwing molotov cocktails at demonstrations... and immediately reject the idea as "not part of any reality I want."
So I am hopeful, on the soft sell angle. And I'm hopeful that those of us who care can create a "model city" of sorts, here with Steemit.