This is an opinion editorial by Aleks Svetski, author of “The UnCommunist Manifesto,” founder of The Bitcoin Times and Host of the “Wake Up Podcast with Svetski.”
Almost 175 years have passed since “The Communist Manifesto” was published and circulated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Some statistics point to it being one of the most widely-read and distributed works of political science and economics in history, despite the core ideology that has led to hundreds of millions of murders worldwide at the hands of those who fervently ”believed” and “reformed” society by its decrees.
It’s about time something was written to help challenge and potentially unwind some of the moral, intellectual, social and economic damage done since.
“The UnCommunist Manifesto” — a book I’ve co-written with Mark Moss that launched globally on August 1, Bitcoin Independence Day — asks and attempts to answer a series of important questions, including:
- Why is it that an idea with a consistent failure rate seems to draw more young people to it than ever before?
- What is it about the original book that’s so infectious that it continues to influence people around the world almost two centuries later?
- What elements of the original text are accurate observations, and what conclusions are drawn ignorant of human psychology and praxeology that lead to devastating consequences?
Launching On Bitcoin UASF Day To Inspire More Independence
We emulated the format and length of “The Communist Manifesto,” so our book is a sharp, concise and lucid read, but the message contained is a reminder for people to reach upward and become better versions of themselves, instead of renouncing individual responsibility by classifying themselves into static groups and intellectually validating their desires to bring others down to their level.
One goal was to change the axis of the “struggle.”
Marx and Engels outlined it as “a struggle between two classes,” which an individual is arbitrarily assigned to based on their material wealth. We reject this and assert that the real struggle is between individual autonomy, sovereignty and responsibility, versus the collectivist tendency toward group identity politics, rights, entitlements and co-dependencies.
We argue that the real struggle has and always will be the choice between cooperation or coercion. Humans must find means to meet and achieve their ends. What path will they choose? What path will you, being a member of the human race, choose?
We hope to see it used as an inspirational text in the years ahead as individuals seek to maintain autonomy and claim sovereignty while the collective seeks to coerce. Our longer-term hope is that this text can be a beacon of hope, sanity and sense in a world being swallowed up by the envy inherently justified by Marxist doctrine.
Humanity is at a crossroads. Never have we had so much potential to do good in the world or literally transform our civilization into transnational gulags.
The siren call of Marxist entropy is stronger than ever. The greatness and sanctity of the individual and the soul must counter it.
So, what does this book have to do with Bitcoin? A lot.
For one, this book is an answer to the misguided, nihilistic and often dangerous ideology that is Marxism. It is also a message of hope, responsibility and liberty for all.
In that sense, it is a Bitcoin book.
Secondly, the core premises of the book are built on the existence of a techno-socio-economic phenomenon such as Bitcoin. There is no other way for a civilization to achieve long-term capital growth, develop dynamic social inequality and permeable classes or the instantiation and preservation of strong private property rights, all as espoused in the book.
As such, while the book may not seem like a “Bitcoin book” on the surface, it is so in spirit.
It’s our way to orange pill humanity using the zeitgeist of the time.
Conservatives, Libertarians and freedom-loving people all around the world implicitly understand and agree with the core messages of the book. Now it’s time we slide the Bitcoin piece into it.
That’s also a part of why we chose to launch it on a very special Bitcoin day. UASF Day on August 1, 2017 was a pivotal moment, where individuals and their nodes stood strong. They did not succumb to the collectivist compulsion of the corporatist Bitcoin narrative. We hope our book will do this day justice.
This is a guest post by Aleks Svetski, author of “The UnCommunist Manifesto,”, founder of The Bitcoin Times and Host of The Wake Up Podcast. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.