At 7:27 PM -0500 on 11/29/00, Steven Furlong wrote:
Not a good comparison. The nation-states which issue the currency are also the nation-states which make the laws and have (or attempt to have) a monopoly on guns.
:-).
How well are or were private currencies insulated from legal action? Say, in 19th-century United States?
Indeed. We'll just have to see, I suppose. For IBUC so far I've met much more regulatory enthusiasm for lower transaction cost than I have resistance to potential anonymity. As I'm fond of saying, reality, especially economic reality, is not optional. Cheers, RAH -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'