On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 2:59 AM, Jon Cox <[email protected]> wrote:
>> They're still consensual. I don't have to use Hungarian Forints, no >> matter what Hungary says. Only if I want to do business with Hungary >> do I have to use Forints. Similarly you could decide to only accept >> transactions in Bitcoins, and that would be consensual as well. > Consent implies an non-extorted assent. > Jail is used to extort the use of USD for certain purposes. "For certain purposes" aka "Doctor it hurts" Forints are required "for certain purposes" as well, and yet I am not compelled to use Forints for anything at all. Now I would agree that there is a problem with the market in governments in that coercive governments have a monopoly but that is not fundamentally a problem with their currencies. Neither you nor I are *required* to use USD at all. The fact that the US Government requires transactions with it to be in USD is no more or less coercive than you requiring any transactions with you being in BitCoins. If you don't want to use USD, don't transact with the US Government (i.e. move out of the US and stop doing business with it.) If I don't want to use BitCoins, I won't do business with you. -- Charles
