Governments don’t run on power. They run on money. Governments don’t run on power. They run on money. This statement feels counterintuitive. We are taught that power flows from the ballot box, the barrel of a gun, or the consent of the governed. We see the pageantry of elections, the authority of law enforcement, and the gravitas of judicial chambers as the very architecture of the State. But these are merely the intricate levers and gears of a vast machine. The fuel that makes it turn, the lifeblood that courses through its veins, is money. And more specifically, the monopolistic control over its creation. The fuel that makes it turn, the lifeblood that courses through its veins, is money. And more specifically, the monopolistic control over its creation. The modern State’s existence, its perpetual growth, and its seemingly unchecked oversight are not accidents of history or the inevitable march of progress. They are the direct consequence of a single, monumental shift: the severing of money from any tangible constraint. The State has granted itself a power no ancient king or emperor could have dreamed of—the ability to conjure wealth from thin air. It has an infinite money printer, and with it, it has purchased unlimited power. the severing of money from any tangible constraint. From Golden Chains to Paper Wings From Golden Chains to Paper Wings To understand the depth of this problem, we must first exhume the ghost of sound money. For millennia, money was an object of intrinsic value or a direct claim on one. Gold, silver, and other commodities were chosen by the market, not by decree. They were difficult to produce, finite in supply, and globally recognized. A government’s ability to spend was therefore limited by its ability to tax its citizens or to borrow from them. There was a direct, tangible cost to every government program, every war, and every bureaucratic expansion. The public could feel the fiscal weight of the State’s ambitions. A king who wished to wage a foreign war had to raise taxes, an often unpopular and risky proposition that could stir dissent and even revolution. The budget was a hard-and-fast constraint, a fiscal straitjacket that tethered the State to reality. or millennia, money was an object of intrinsic value or a direct claim on one. Gold, silver, and other commodities were chosen by the market, not by decree. The public could feel the fiscal weight of the State’s ambitions. The 20th century saw the systematic dismantling of this restraint. The final, decisive blow came in 1971 when the United States unilaterally abandoned the last vestiges of the gold standard. With the “Nixon Shock,” the U.S. dollar, and by extension the entire global monetary system, became pure fiat — money that has value simply because a government decrees that it does. The central banks, once quasi-independent custodians, were transformed into engines of state finance. Their new, primary function was to manage this system of unbacked currency, giving them the tools to expand the money supply at will. This is the monetary monopoly in its purest form. The 20th century saw the systematic dismantling of this restraint. The central banks, once quasi-independent custodians, were transformed into engines of state finance. The Blank Check: Funding the Unchecked State The Blank Check: Funding the Unchecked State How does this infinite funding translate into unchecked power? How does this infinite funding translate into unchecked power? First, it enables perpetual warfare. The astronomical costs of modern, forever wars could never be funded through direct, transparent taxation. No citizenry would knowingly vote to have their paychecks slashed by 20% to fund a multi-decade conflict in a distant land with nebulous objectives. Instead, governments fund these ventures through debt and inflation. They issue bonds, which are purchased by the central bank with newly created money. The bill doesn’t arrive as a tax invoice; it arrives silently, as a thief in the night. It manifests as the rising price of groceries, the erosion of savings, and the debasement of a lifetime of work. Inflation is the most insidious tax of all because it is levied without legislation or consent. it enables perpetual warfare governments fund these ventures through debt and inflation. Second, it finances the boundless expansion of the welfare and surveillance state. Massive social programs and sprawling intelligence agencies require a constant, ever-increasing flow of capital. When funding is infinite, there is no need for fiscal discipline. Every crisis becomes an excuse for a new multi-trillion-dollar program, every new technology an opportunity for a new surveillance apparatus. The State no longer has to make difficult choices about what it can and cannot afford. It can afford everything because it can print the means to pay for it. This removes the most critical feedback loop between the people and their government: fiscal accountability. it finances the boundless expansion of the welfare and surveillance state Every crisis becomes an excuse for a new multi-trillion-dollar program every new technology an opportunity for a new surveillance apparatus Third, it institutionalizes moral hazard and protects the politically connected. The 2008 financial crisis provides the starkest example. When the world’s largest financial institutions faced collapse due to their own reckless behavior, they were not allowed to fail. The State, through its central bank, created trillions of dollars to bail them out, papering over their insolvency. This act sent a clear message: the rules of the free market—profit and loss—apply only to the small, not to the systemically important. The money printer allows the State to privatize gains and socialize losses, reinforcing a cronyist system where proximity to the monetary spigot is more important than providing value to society. it institutionalizes moral hazard and protects the politically connected This act sent a clear message: the rules of the free market—profit and loss—apply only to the small, not to the systemically important The Futility of Fighting Shadows The Futility of Fighting Shadows This is the world built by fiat currency. A world where the State is unbound, where wars are endless, where surveillance is omnipresent, and where the savings of ordinary people are constantly devalued to fund it all. Many recognize the symptoms but fail to diagnose the disease. We protest the wars, we decry the surveillance, we vote for politicians who promise fiscal responsibility. Yet, nothing fundamentally changes. The State continues to grow, its reach continues to expand, and our freedoms continue to recede. We are trying to trim the branches of a tree whose roots are nourished by an inexhaustible spring. The effort is futile. We protest the wars, we decry the surveillance, we vote for politicians who promise fiscal responsibility. Yet, nothing fundamentally changes The only way to stop the State is to defund the State. The only way to defund the State is to opt out of its monetary system. The only way to stop the State is to defund the State. The only way to defund the State is to opt out of its monetary system. The logic is inescapable. As long as we use their money—the money they can create without limit—we are implicitly funding the very system we may wish to oppose. Every dollar we save is a vote of confidence in a system designed to confiscate that value over time. Every transaction we make within their financial rails reinforces their control. To challenge the State’s power, one must challenge its source: its monopoly on money. To challenge the State’s power, one must challenge its source: its monopoly on money. A Peaceful Exit: Enter Bitcoin A Peaceful Exit: Enter Bitcoin For decades, this was a purely theoretical proposition. There was no viable alternative. Gold was a hedge, but it was physically cumbersome and had been successfully co-opted and centralized by governments in the past. The world was a captive audience to the fiat experiment. Until now. For decades, this was a purely theoretical proposition. There was no viable alternative. The only way to opt out of their monetary system is by choosing a different monetary system that they can’t control. That system is Bitcoin. That system is Bitcoin. Created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is not merely a new digital currency; it is a revolutionary monetary system. It represents the first time in history that we have a monetary good that is simultaneously digital, decentralized, and provably scarce. It is the antithesis of the fiat system in every conceivable way. Bitcoin is not merely a new digital currency; it is a revolutionary monetary system. The Digital Bedrock: Bitcoin vs. Fiat The Digital Bedrock: Bitcoin vs. Fiat Where fiat is centralized, Bitcoin is decentralized. There is no CEO, no central bank, no board of directors. It is run by a global, voluntary network of tens of thousands of computers (nodes) that enforce a common set of rules without needing to trust each other. No single government or corporation can turn it off, change the rules, or freeze an account. centralized decentralized Where fiat has an infinite supply, Bitcoin has an absolute, unchangeable scarcity. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This is not a policy promise; it is a mathematical certainty enforced by the network’s consensus algorithm. This makes Bitcoin the hardest money ever created. It cannot be debased. It cannot be printed to fund wars or bail out failing banks. Its supply is perfectly inelastic and utterly indifferent to political whims. infinite supply absolute, unchangeable scarcity This is not a policy promise; it is a mathematical certainty enforced by the network’s consensus algorithm. Where fiat is opaque, Bitcoin is transparent. The entire history of transactions is recorded on a public ledger, the blockchain, which anyone can audit. We don't have to trust a central authority's press release; we can verify the state of the network for ourselves. opaque transparent Bitcoin represents the separation of money and the State. Just as the separation of church and State was a monumental leap forward for human liberty, freeing individuals from the dogmatic coercion of a single institution, the separation of money and State offers a similar evolutionary leap. It removes the State's most powerful tool of control and coercion. Bitcoin represents the separation of money and the State. The Great Defunding: A Voluntary Revolution The Great Defunding: A Voluntary Revolution Opting into the Bitcoin standard is not an act of aggression. It is a peaceful, voluntary act of self-preservation. It is a declaration that one’s time, energy, and capital will no longer be stored in a currency designed to melt away. When an individual chooses to save in Bitcoin, they are moving their economic energy from a system of infinite supply to a system of finite supply. As more and more people make this choice, a profound shift occurs. Opting into the Bitcoin standard is not an act of aggression. It is a peaceful, voluntary act of self-preservation. The State’s ability to fund itself through the hidden tax of inflation diminishes. Its “inflation tax base” shrinks. As its fiat currency loses purchasing power relative to a harder, more desirable alternative, the State is forced to confront the same fiscal realities that every individual and business must face. It will have to fund its operations through direct, transparent taxation or voluntary borrowing in a competitive market. It will have to justify its expenditures to a public that is now acutely aware of the costs. The era of the blank check will be over. The State’s ability to fund itself through the hidden tax of inflation diminishes. Its “inflation tax base” shrinks. The era of the blank check will be over. This is the path to a smaller, more accountable government. Not through protest signs or ballot boxes, but through the simple, powerful act of choosing a better money. It is a bottom-up revolution, driven not by charismatic leaders but by the rational self-interest of millions of individuals seeking to protect their wealth and secure their future. A Choice for the Future A Choice for the Future The transition will not be instantaneous, nor will it be without turmoil. The existing system will not relinquish its power quietly. But the laws of economics are as relentless as the laws of physics. Water will always flow downhill, and capital will always flow to where it is treated best. A monetary system based on mathematics and absolute scarcity will, over time, inevitably outcompete a system based on political promises and infinite debasement. We stand at a pivotal moment in history. For the first time, we have a viable exit. We have a tool to peacefully defund the systems of control and overreach that have come to define the modern world. We can build a parallel economy, a new financial infrastructure that is open, neutral, and resistant to censorship. We have the power to choose. We stand at a pivotal moment in history. For the first time, we have a viable exit. Nothing will change until the money is changed. Nothing will change until the money is changed. Nothing will change until the money is changed.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

This story contains AI-generated text. The author has used AI either for research, to generate outlines, or write the text itself. 

Bitcoin and the Uncoiling Spring: Defunding the State by Changing the Money.

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