bitcoin as a global medium of exchange (was Re: Interesting take on Sanjuro's Assassination Market)

[James A. Donald]

On 2013-11-27 13:18, Hashem Nasarat wrote:
> Nothing like good wealthy land owners to run a country well.
> Would could be more telling of a person's privilege (nay, right!) to
> rule others than a history of wealth?
>
> Because war, slavery, genocide, were definitely not byproducts of having
> a homogeneous in-group that controlled all areas of wealth and power...

The level of warfare, slavery, and genocide seems to have increased 
steadily with the decline of kings as the world got more demotic

Those mightily indignant about slavery that substantially increased the 
living standards of those lucky enough "to catch the boat", as Mohammed 
Ali famously phrased it, just loved slavery that caused a hundred 
million or so to starve to death.  We also saw all the gliterati and the 
progressive intellectuals gathered to support Mengistu's slave state.

War increased from the days of the Restoration until World War II, after 
which we got the pax atomica, the peace of terror, the nuclear peace. 
Things were, during the nuclear peace, if not quiet, comparatively quiet.

Let us look at the middle east.  Would anyone be worried if one the 
monarchies had nukes?

No, they would be mightily relieved, confident that the Kings would keep 
the fanatics quiet.

But when the nearest thing to democracy in the middle east reaches for 
nuclear weapons, looks like the peace of terror may finally end in terror.