Tim May should learn that holding 'harsh' and 'realistic' opinions require a little substantiation...not ignorence and blind scepticism. Rather than start an argument on third world politics and the like I'll quote two sources that Tim and everyone else ought to check out. These are at the end of this post. Second, ok so cypherpunks is not about the redistribution of wealth is it? How many of you would agree it is about retaining the status quo? Cypherpunks, in my (rather simplistic) opinion, IS about the redistribution of power. Wealth is often seen as a subset of power. The people who control assets today are by and large criminals. This is not a judgement but a simple statement...in the past the main form of power was violence - 'Political power grows from the barrel of a gun.' - Mao More gained through war, pirecy and pillage is today seen as liliy white, by the likes of Tim May. This is ignorence. Look closer. Cypherpunks & crypto gives us a chance today to 'redistribute' the power base from one based on fear, violence etc to one based on information...wait! I didn't say this new power base will be more ethical than the last...who knows? It certainly has the potential to be...that is what cypherpunks is about...to me! To Tim May it's about something very different. But remember people are NOT sheep and nothing lasts forever. Historically, geographic areas such as the third world are not responsible for their current economic climate any more than Tim May is responsible for the economic sucess of the US, or for that matter the criminal acts of Nixon...who is then? Read on MacDuff... Read 'A Fate Worse Than Debt' - Susan George for a popular understanding on the third world debt crisis. This will tell you about 'countless third world deaths' and also the extent of Citibank's involvement. A quote: 'If I were the president of a third world nation...I would be far more frightened by a well dressed gentleman bringing loans from the IMF or Citibank than by a bearded guerrilla muttering threats of revolution.' - Lewis Lapham, Imperial Masquerade, 1990 For an economic perspective on third world debt read: 'Economics for a developing world' - Michael P Todaro, ISBN 0-582-07136-4 Zaid Hassan ph93szh@brunel.ac.uk ps.sorry if this is rather harsh Tim, you sorta annoyed me.