Human beings, for the most part, all know what fairness means.
Some would call that irresponsible and perhaps it is, but it wasn’t the first time I made a decision based on conscience and it won’t be the last.
Recent developments only serve to heighten the urgency of the feeling I almost started growing accustomed to, until it was ratcheted up by several notches in early 2020 and again early 2022.
The purpose of this article is to really try to elucidate and simplify that point, which is what I’ve come to understand about the problem we face.
And while we may not all agree on the specific meaning of that term “fairness,” including all its subtleties, I do believe there are some basic principles that are hard-coded into us.
In this context, it serves merely as an example to try and point at the problem, which is the dynamic at play: The people who have been put in the position of policing the planet also want to be a player in the game.
As Lyn Alden pointed out on a recent “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, China is the only country that really stands to benefit from this current war.
What I’m suggesting is that the perceived need for rulers is the problem, and not the solution, as so many people seem to believe.
But seen from a more abstract perspective, it should be clear that it’s also an example of the kind of systems that must be built if we want to survive and thrive.
There will be enforceable rules, but those rules will not be enforced by individuals or small groups susceptible to the shortcomings of human nature.