Underestimating long-term consequences of cryptoanarchy

[Jim Choate]

On Mon, 5 May 2003, Tyler Durden wrote:

>
> >In the case of printing, the result over the following century or two was a
> >rise in literacy rates (in the common languages, and this is when German,
> >French, and English, for example, largely solidified into their current
> >forms, viz. the Luther Bible, the King James Version, etc.). And the
> >Protestant Reformation was built on printed words and on the people's
> >ability to directly read the religious texts.
> >
> >A technology undermined the state and the church.
>
>
> This is why I still bother reading Tim May's posts. Every now and then he
> comes up with a good one. Hell, I'd recommend he stick with technology and
> stop worrying about blacks and other "social problems".

Except he's wrong. No government fell and the printing press did nothing
but increase the power of the church, his own example demonstrates it.

> In response to the main post I'd point out that it would have been easy (and
> wrong) to say that, "The Printing Press, The telescope, town clocks and
> Protestantism will reduce the power of the church to the point where it will
> collapse."

NONE of those devices did that. They changed the approaches used but did
not in any significant way do this.

What -did- was the growth of concepts like equality and
self-determination.


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