Like Libertarianism itself Bitcoin is going through a transition from elegant theory to brutal reality.
Similar view on Bitcoin as well. Simple idea - no middle-men meddling in your monetary exchanges. When it comes to that, Bitcoin works great "in reality".
We are seeing just how well the Bitcoin world works as the more competent hackers and thieves (i.e. beyond script kiddies) decide to play.
This is essentially what banking and currency were until about 200-300 years ago the current set of crazy banking rules developed because thieves at every level forced the regulations.
My family lived in Arizona when it was still a territory and have some real horror stories about banks that simply disappeared with everyone's savings.
At least now the crooks have to get creative (Worldcom, Enron)
I suspect that if ever Bitcoin becomes widespread it will in fact look very much like any other bank/exchange (PayPal, Western Union, etc.)