Nostr Is Crypto Anarchy
Listen to the Audio version here.
I've never felt comfortable calling myself an anarchist. I never sought out to be one. Before bitcoin, I was into the punk scene. I know nothing about music or how to play an instrument, but I liked hanging out with punks who wore mohawks, slept on couches, and traveled by train like hobos. Some of them were accountants. Some were homeless heroin addicts nodding off in the afternoon.
They were anarchists. I somewhat sympathize with this worldview. It's like Walden with a modern touch. I don't think I could live that way though. I don't find this type of anarchy all that appealing. It's too Mad Max for me and I own too many damn computers to live in a van.
Sometimes, I'll catch something on the news that makes me pause and ponder the most important philosophical question of modernity, "What the fuck?"
Then I remember some of the crypto anarchy literature and think:
- We can communicate with each other.
- We can create contracts.
- We can conduct commerce on the Internet.
- We can do all of this on nostr.
That's kind of a big deal.
"Computer technology is on the verge of providing the ability for individuals and groups to communicate and interact with each other in a totally anonymous manner. Two persons may exchange messages, conduct business, and negotiate electronic contracts without ever knowing the True Name, or legal identity, of the other. Interactions over networks will be untraceable, via extensive re-routing of encrypted packets and tamper-proof boxes which implement cryptographic protocols with nearly perfect assurance against any tampering. Reputations will be of central importance, far more important in dealings than even the credit ratings of today. These developments will alter completely the nature of government regulation, the ability to tax and control economic interactions, the ability to keep information secret, and will even alter the nature of trust and reputation."
--Tim May, the Cryptoanarchist Manifesto
The Nostr Marketplace Is Crypto Anarchy
Anyone with a smart phone and the ability to write down 12 words can create a pseudonymously owned business.
- You don't need to build a website.
- Don't need a business licence.
- Don't need to worry about Congress force sell your stocks because they don't like your national origin.
- Don't need a business checking account.
- Don't need a 21st century blue check ID.
It's early as an infant taking his first steps, but we are on the verge of changing the world. A few days ago, I bought a belt from LeatherMint. I never would have found this website if it weren't for nostr. I haven't checked my PO Box yet, but it's on the way. I have no idea what LeatherMint's legal name is. I don't know Leathermint's gender, race, nor ethnicity. Hell if I know what LeatherMint's preferred pronouns are, yet I can still conduct business with this person, ghost, robot, or whatever. It doesn't matter because LeatherMint's identity is not required to do business. LeatherMint's quality of work speaks for itself. Reputation is greater than identity.
"I am fascinated by Tim May's crypto-anarchy. Unlike the communities
traditionally associated with the word "anarchy", in a crypto-anarchy the
government is not temporarily destroyed but permanently forbidden and
permanently unnecessary. It's a community where the threat of violence is
impotent because violence is impossible, and violence is impossible
because its participants cannot be linked to their true names or physical
locations."
wei-dai, b-money
Nostr is not far off this vision. It's not totally anonymous yet, but it allows us to achieve free speech for ourselves despite living under regimes with totalitarianism tendencies. As the debt and speech banning grows we can exit the mainstream platforms. Wave goodbye to Facebook Marketplace. Say hello to the nostr marketplace, where our money is not subject to debasement. We call it freedom tech.
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