I am writing this work in the hopes of informing the general populous of a large, even global scale problem that we all face.
Government is a good thing and some form of government is essential to keep the peace. However, what is the role of government? I would suggest that it is put in place to "protect the righteous from the unrighteous." When government no longer succeeds in doing this (it by nature will do the opposite).
The key problem in our societies right now would be the Central banks, almost every nation now has one. Some of these would include The Bank of England, The Federal Reserve System, The Peoples Bank of China and many more. These Central banks hold the right to control monetary policy among our nations. Monetary policy is a type of economic policy and is one of three main economic policies. By having these Centralized banks, the government has passed on its authority to control its economy through monetary measures and allowed these ultimately privately-owned institutions to dictate the future of a whole nation's economy. Take this to a global scale and what we have is a form of worldwide slavery. Not one defined by race or religion, purely a complete enslavement of as much as possible by the people in the highest "financial positions".
I think Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin is the solution to this problem, however we have to first understand what exactly "money" means, what exactly defines a currency and thus what power do these banks actually hold.
The Oxford dictionaries definition of money is thus "A current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes collectively." The key words in here are medium and exchange. In our current digital age, the idea that money has to be a coin or banknote is seriously outdated and impractical. In fact, it is estimated that in the UK's circular flow only 3% of 'money' is actually, represented physically. A really helpful article by Andrew Beattie was published, it states " Money, in and of itself, is nothing. It can be a shell, a metal coin, or a piece of paper with a historic image on it, but the value that people place on it has nothing to do with the physical value of the money. Money derives its value by being a medium of exchange, a unit of measurement and a storehouse for wealth."
What that means in really plain simple English is that instead of giving you 10 sheep for that ford focus of yours I can now give you 5000 pounds sterling instead. Why? Because we as a nation all know that those pounds sterling can be used elsewhere to buy other things. It is agreed that it holds a certain 'value', thus making it far easier for us to trade both individually and on an international scale. It would be super impractical withought this medium of exchange because I would have to find someone willing to give me their ford focus for sheep, that could take an awfully long time. This old form of trading was known as bartering, but as society's and cultures have grown and the human population has thrived, we have all become far more specialist both individually and nationally; the need for trade is higher than ever. Lydia's King Alyattes created the first form of 'money' as we know it today. He mixed silver and gold, put a seal on it and thus it was used as the first medium of exchange.
The definition of currency according to the Oxford dictionary "a system of money in general use in a particular country." It would seem anyone could make money, but what validates it is that it is accepted and used as a medium of exchange. If it is used as this among a certain group of people then it becomes a currency? Technically for it to be a currency the nations rulers have to approve it, however if it is accepted and used as a medium of exchange it certainly, is money. Thus, I see no reason why a nations government wouldn't accept it as a currency even if not their own.
Therefore, how did we get to our current form of money, that is the British Pound Sterling? Let us start with the Romans, they have influenced our western culture hugely in all manner of ways, not least monetarily.
The denarius (a silver coin, often used to pay wages) was one of the coins used by the Romans, the key factors of the Roman currency was that it was made from either Gold, silver or copper. Each coin had a different 'value' based on the metal used to make it. There were many minting stations but ultimately the process and responsibility of minting these coins came down to the emperor and senate. However, the denarius used in 267BC was very different to the denarius used in 100AD. Over time emperors debased the currency's, that is they took out the silver content. They would melt down the old denarius and put less silver in it than before, however calling it the same thing. Eventually people begun to realize and ultimately it is this act of debasement that caused the Roman Empire to fall economically. Nonetheless this debasement was far more obvious due to the value placed on these coins being largely due to the metal used. A gold coin was worth far more because gold is a valuable, rare and finite resource. By reducing the gold content, you are reducing its value because ultimately the value is based on what a group of persons are willing to give for it. If the Gold content is reduced and the persons involved are aware then naturally the currency's value is reduced. Unfortunately, the Emperors did not do this with the people's knowledge, to pay their armies they inflated the money. When the people found out it caused the end for the Roman Empire.
In our current society we no longer use a Gold standard, this in and of itself is not an issue, Gold holds no value itself either. However what Gold represents is rarity, that among the populous even to this day holds a value when it comes to trading. If our currency is no longer based on gold though how do we keep its value?
Unfortunately, in practice we no longer do, pressure groups such as 'Positive Money' are campaigning for reform of our monetary systems. The reason being that just like the Roman Empire our Central Banks hold the sole right to control our monetary system as they please. That means they can print money as they please when they want and how they want. This leads to the debasement of our currencies, only now it is even easier as they simply do not have to re mint any coinage but instead simply print paper out. This current policy is known as "quantitative easing". This is where the Bank of England create more Pound sterling's, with nothing to show for it, they give this to the government in the form of a loan, this loan charges interest. The government have been spending this money into the financial sector. Unfortunately, this does a number of things, it debases our currency (makes it worth less because the rarity of the pound sterling is now lower.), it also means we the taxpayer now have to pay the Bank of England not only this money back, but also, interest. This in turn leads to a reduction in our circular flow (the money going around the British economy) and thus less money for the general populous. The government have not tackled this issue at all, around a third of our debt is owed to the Bank of England, and we the taxpayer have seen nothing for it because it has been put into the financial sectors to keep them afloat and keep them making money artificially.
Therefore, where do these cryptocurrencies now fit in. Bitcoin especially due to its cap of 21million units (it therefore cannot be debased, just like gold because there is a set amount there can ever possibly be) seems to be an alternative mode of 'bartering'. It is not controlled by a Central Bank or 'emperor' and thus we are not at risk when using it of being scammed by these banks debasing our national currency's. Due to its digital nature as well, the ease of use for these bitcoins cuts out the middlemen and takes us not back to bartering ages, but forward to a much more efficient age of bartering. However, these Central banks who currently control the money supplies globally have a vested interest against these cryptocurrencies. 'Money is power', without the control they have over the money system the power is given back to the people. Currently they own the money, that means they own people, they can buy out whoever they want, including the media. There has been so much hate from newspapers such as the Guardian and the Telegraph, claiming bitcoin is a fraud, or that bitcoin isn't even a currency. Of course, Bitcoin is a currency, but not one accepted by the Central Banks. Since when did these Banks look out for the protection of the righteous? Why then have our governments in essence handed over all authority to them.
In conclusion I believe that Bitcoin and the likes are the future of currencies, they are the way in which the general population can take back power from these parasites who are simply taking cuts out of the tax payers wage, ultimately enslaving them. Bitcoin is a direct attack on our current monetary system, it was an attack much needed against the 'financial elite'. However, do not be surprised then if they try to squish these cryptocurrencies in their early days. The most good we can do as a people is spread the word of these alternative forms of currency and hopefully even start using them widespread in our society's. We will no longer have need for centralized banks and therefore no middle man taking what is not his.
