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Re: Bitcoin and Porn
by
freeyourmind
on 01/07/2015, 04:22:50 UTC

I do think that there is some rationale for the banning of certain hard drugs which have a much greater potential for harm vs. soft drugs like marijuana or even LSD but other than that, you are pretty much preaching to the choir. Not once did I say that I personally believe any of those mentioned activities to be morally wrong.

Bitcoin sees very little economic activity compared with fiat. Fiat is used to buy your baked beans at the supermarket. Fiat is used to pay the mortgage for your house. Fiat is used to pay for your children's college educations. Bitcoin isn't. Until recently, the vast majority of the Bitcoin economy was comprised of "underground" elements and this association was only beginning to be shed from the beginning of last year. Fiat, on the other hand, has much more varied set of uses and the "underground" elements only comprise a minority of the fiat economy. Since this association has hurt mainstream adoption of Bitcoin in the past and is something that the Bitcoin community is trying to distance itself from, is it really wise to be actively encouraging underground markets to adopt BTC at this point in its evolution?

I'm not a vegan myself but if I lived in a society where 95% were vegans who opposed meat/dairy consumption, I would not like to see Bitcoin being targeted towards livestock and poultry farms, slaughterhouses, and butcheries - especially if the (presumably) taboo meat/dairy industry already comprises a significant share of the Bitcoin economy.

Society is irrational and illogical, but if Bitcoin wants to be mainstream then unfortunately, it must pander to society's views and expectations.

I don't think any drugs should be banned, because banning does not stop anyone from taking it.  It just places them in a category of being a criminal rather than someone with a health issue or addiction problem.  Many pharmaceuticals and even over the counter drugs can lead to death from overdose, and actually there are many more deaths from "legal" drugs than "illegal" drugs.

Most people consider heroin a terrible drug - super addictive and difficult to be a functional person for users.  But morphine prescribed to a patient seems totally fine, when it is the same thing (pharmaceutical grade) and equally as addictive.

I think for Bitcoin, it needs as many transactions as possible to stabilize its volatility before the mainstream adopts it.  So it needs to start with some of the more taboo industries.  Instead of being selective of which industries to enter, Bitcoin needs to just be focused on growing as much as possible.