Note about eliminating govt, it's often a choice of evils. Shall we surrender civil society to blood-thirsty thugs, as is happening right now in parts of Mexico and Latin America? Is that our future? Somebody is going to control (and profit) from drugs no matter what. Perhaps SR is something of a stepping-stone out of this quagmire. I'd be interested on what, if any, role they envision for govt. if there were to be significant changes to current laws. Or, does Silk Road consider itself above the law?
First of all I do not speak for Silk Road or for Bitcoin, as I am not affiliated directly with either.
Second of all, I reject as false your assertion that eliminating government is "often a choice of evils" and would involve "surrender[ing] civil society to blood-thirsty thugs". What is happening in Mexico and Latin America is a direct result of the government attempting to regulate something and being completely ineffective at it, which is causing mayhem. Furthermore, if you think up all of the worst oppressions and "blood-thirsty thugs" that have plagued humanity over the course of history, you will find that the majority of them were governments. In fact the most prosperous and happy societies in history were those with the most limited forms of government.
This has proceeded sufficiently off-topic now however that I will no longer reply to this train of thought in this thread, however if you wish to discuss how you think that government is necessary to save us all from the "blood-thirsty thugs", please feel free to create another thread and PM me the link. I'd love to stop by.