“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music,” — Friedrich Nietzsche
Bitcoin and art could lead us out of the mechanical stronghold that the predatory, manipulative and exploitative fiat reality imposes on us. Art is individually liberating and inherently disruptive. Bitcoin is the groundbreaking technology that does the same. How do we free a people whose monetary foundation is not free?
“To free the people,” is a powerful statement. We can guess with great certainty from what or whom people want to be free. What happens when people are free? If we agree that Bitcoin and art need to free people from the fiat systemic oppression structures, we must be specific about what kind of freedom we want to lead. The power of art to free the people was always a threat to any political, military and economic system. As much as that power was suppressed by kings, governments and bureaucrats, that power was also manipulated in leading many revolutions — just think of Europe in the 1960s, the 1980s and 1990s.
“You think you are an individual, but are you actually?” — Jiddu Krishnamurti
In art, “I” becomes “we.” It is a paradox that is present in art. An artist is communicating the work with the public and in doing so becomes a part of the larger group. In that instant the artist becomes “we,” and we are one with the artist. Something similar is present in the existence of Bitcoin. With every block created and node approval granted, a singular becomes plural-forever embedded in the blockchain. “I” in Bitcoin, even if it is seen as a sovereign individualistic and pragmatic construct, disappeared from the vocabulary. In Bitcoin, it is always “we” as we are not singular but a combination of more than just one node/individual. That is how we discover that “we” is the path to free the people.
“Consider your origins: You were not made to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.” — Dante Alighieri
The fiat system and culture are predatory and mechanical. If we chose a contemplative and creative culture, the massive civil awakening that is potentially upon us could be transformed into the movement of creation and renaissance of human consciousness. The base for it is sound money is bitcoin, and the way of enlightening people is art. That is freedom. To be enlightened and to have sound money. That is how Bitcoin and art will free the people. Why do we always and repeatedly need to build technology and money for the worst-case scenario? We already have new, different technology and means of communicating and adopting the same. We have Bitcoin and art. Unfortunately, we perceive history as a past narrative, but we do not understand that history itself is a narrative in perpetual motion. And we learn nothing. All is already written in cycles and the nature of progress. To fully transform our reality we need to free the people.
“Only after disaster can we be resurrected. It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything. Nothing is static, everything is evolving, everything is falling apart,” — Chuch Palahniuk, “Fight Club”
Art will give us the vocabulary to articulate the science of Bitcoin. Through art, we could access the morality of Bitcoin. The people will be free through allegory and symbols. Someone could rightly state that allegory itself is nothing else but verbal symbolism. Bitcoin is the symbol of an idea and that idea is freedom. Bitcoin gives a new identity to freedom that is born out of contemplation and creativity. The idea of freedom is larger than the response to predatory and mechanical structures of the fiat system and fiat institutions. Bitcoin can free people to create a new reality using the language of art.
Bitcoin needs its own symbolism. That symbolism is the future essence of Bitcoin’s existence.
If we are to withdraw that symbolism from Bitcoin, we will leave behind a lifeless mass of code and cold mathematical calculations. Bitcoin proposes a new definition of not just monetary freedom, but a definition of freedom in and of itself. The proposition is simple: Bitcoin is not issued and not controlled by any government or financial institution. By being not controlled by anyone at all, Bitcoin is closer to the idea of energy. And energy is freedom.
As a non-controllable entity, Bitcoin proposes a way for us to deal peacefully with each other through mutual agreement. That is freedom. This kind of exchange could only happen between and among free people. The only true connection — even spiritual connection — is between Bitcoin and art.
Freedom in the new Renaissance actually exists everywhere all at once on each node. Bitcoin and art inspire us equally to say: “I don’t know,” and that is the only way to be free. In learning, we open freedom to be and to create. Bitcoin holds the idea that all people have the same opportunities to grow. That is freedom and that freedom cannot be achieved without your work and your compassion. That freedom is the key to the new Renaissance.
The artistic realm is real. It comes at first, down to us, in its immateriality. To grasp art we need to have consciousness and free will. Consciousness and free will are not illusions.
Art is not an illusion.
Bitcoin is not an illusion.
Freedom is not an illusion.
This is a guest post by Stefan Dzeparoski. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.