Hello everyone, this is my first post out of the newbies section!
I have been wondering, why do people expect that the bitcoin system will miraculously solve all social and political issues the human kind has created over the centuries?
Surely the conservative will react sceptically or even pessimistically to any new economic development - but why do they expect that unless Bitcoin present answer to all these challenges the traditional money system failed to solve, then they must fail in the long term!
Some examples:
1. Anonymity - no one criticises the use of cash in illicit transactions like drug and weapons trade, but suddenly, because the Bitcoins can be used in similar manner (anonymously) it is the issue that Bitcoin brings to the society
2. Derivative from 1 - ability to steal someone else's Bitcoins and that transaction is irreversibly - no trail - but one can steal someone's wallet easily, we see this happen every day by pick-pockets, but no one blames it on the money - they blame it on the pick-pockets!
3. Lack of utility value - sure, I can not buy many things with bitcoins right now, but same applies to the non-convertible currency and the Internet - I can not buy anything with say Ghana Cedis on the Internet, but no one shoots down the Cedi economy as lacking utility or claiming that their currency does not have future.
4. Derivative from 3 - there is quite an utility value of bitcoin - it looks like the speculation are thriving on the Bitcoin value growth like there is no tomorrow (no pun intended) and thanks to them, there is a lively US$ 80-90M market cap growing exponentially - I am sure some of the non-convertible currencies present bleaker investment prospect to the money market traders than Bitcoin, but they still get traded.
and I can go on and on
So, which is the particular characteristic of Bitcoin, so different from the current physical moneys the society uses will make it fail in the long term?
Failing to solve all social and political problems and provide enduring world peace?
How?