[Dgcchat] Totalitarian Force Monopoly and Geodesic Capital (was Re: [Clips] The Economics of the Rise of Ahmadinejad)

[R.A. Hettinga]

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  Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:12:44 -0500
  To: "Philodox Clips List" <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: Re: [Dgcchat] Totalitarian Force Monopoly and Geodesic Capital
  	(was Re: [Clips] The Economics of the Rise of Ahmadinejad)
  Reply-To: clips-chat at philodox.com
  Sender: clips-bounces at philodox.com


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   Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
   Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:02:21 -0500
   To: dgcchat at dgcchat.com
   From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
   Subject: Re: [Dgcchat] Totalitarian Force Monopoly and Geodesic Capital
   (was Re: [Clips] The Economics of the Rise of Ahmadinejad)

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   At 7:22 PM +0000 2/26/07, Darren Rhodes wrote:
   >The battle is one between
   >fiat currency vs FC

   I don't think so.

   I think that the contents of say, a digital bearer certificate are,
   orthogonal to the method of execution, clearing, and settlement. They're,
   heh, immaterial. (Okay, bad financial operations joke, that.)

   As an underwriter, I don't care whether I'm issuing certificates backed by
   anything: dollars, pounds, quatloos, a share of stock, a debenture (or just
   the principal, or just one interest coupon thereof), gold, opium, a car on
   a transporter in the middle of a the pacific, a toaster in a container on a
   container ship in the middle of same, a transporter or a container *ship*
   in the middle of same, a bushel of grain in an elevator, beef on the hoof
   in a stockyard... or any derivative thereof. Or a wager on the price of
   anything. Or a wager on an event, like, say me betting that I'll die next
   year for a million bucks (speaking of Mr. Heinlein...). Or the future
   performance of services. Or the current, real-time, performance of
   services, surgery, theater, or, um, other things.

   Well, you get the idea.

   In theory, if someone wants to trade assets in digital bearer form, and I
   can make money at it, then I'll underwrite certificates representing those
   assets. If the transaction cost is low enough compared to book-entry
   settlement, we might be able to issue digital bearer certificates
   representing clear title to any asset in creation, trade them for each
   other, at the protocol level, exclusive of national origin. Or
   extra-national origin. Or whatever.

   That, I claim, will lead to the abolition of transfer-pricing, the collapse
   of hierarchical into geodesic society, abolition of force-monopoly, the
   reduction of nation-states to the status of sports franchises (and other
   religious affiliations), dogs and cats living together, world peace,
   perfect forward security (but not p=np), perfect pseudonymity representing
   functional anonymity, Measurable Improvement In The General Welfare And The
   Progress Of Humanity In General. (My definition: more stuff, cheaper, today
   more than yesterday, tomorrow more than today, forever and forever, amen.
   What's yours?).

   But that's just me claiming stuff. I want to actually see this stuff
   deployed to see whether it *works*, first. "Works", for me, means that an
   underwriter can make a profit, which means that buyers and sellers profit,
   too, to the extent that it costs them less to buy and sell those assets my
   way than any other way.

   Otherwise, we're just waving our hands, here, even if we're doing it more
   enthusiastically than usual.

   Cheers,
   RAH

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   --
   -----------------
   R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at 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'

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  --
  -----------------
  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at 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'
  _______________________________________________
  Clips mailing list
  Clips at philodox.com
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at 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'