Following today’s Charles Hoskinson’s comment to Coindesk’s article on crypto-colonialism [ https://www.coindesk.com/the-headache-of-crypto-colonialism ], it may be interesting to continue the discussion in this space of the Cardano community.
I spent 17 months in Guinea-Bissau (west Africa), one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. International Cooperation and Development sector validation is one of the most difficult discussions I’ve ever had. Either you do not go there, stay away, and be happy, or you go there and get submerged in a very (very) complex political and social environement, spending millions of dolars for decades in the ealth, educational and infraestructures sectors, improving those lifes in small steps for a long (long) time. International Cooperation and Development sector is indeed a market just by it self. But if this market does not exist, I cannot say (no one can honestly) what would happen to those countries managed by dictators and successive coups d’etat. Now, I know what it is to work with people without ID cards or using ID cards photocopies, usually out of date. And even with poor internet connections almost everybody used to have a cell phone. So…
So I kindly ask you to post Hoskinson’s comment, it’s lacking; thanks.
The situation happening in all the african continent is one every shcoolar, like Pete “heady-naggy” Howson, and well-informed people, knows for a fact: richest continent on Earth, and that’s not an overstatement at all.
Based upon that de facto circumstance, it’s naturally obvious why so many wars/conflicts are sown there. The good’ol “divide and conquer”.
That said, never, I believe, so much hipocrisy grassed in this planet; at least not in such plain sight.
I’ll make some points regarding the “article” and will refer to your comment after.
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U.N., former league of nations, is one of the most maqueavillian “institutions” portraying the “all-well” in this charade. So, w/e is the statement they emit → shredder.
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Foul play:
Blockchain projects can do very little to repair the roads and build strong political institutions in places like Ethiopia.
Followed by:
Poverty and corruption are the [ideal conditions] for entrepreneurs exploring opportunities to extract resources from vulnerable communities.
Which is the truth in it’s entirity, and has happened as long as Humanity exists. Let’s not be cynical about that, and at the same time let’s not say the entirity of Human Beings did that in any occasion whatsoever.
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The “research” of the blablabla “university” suggests. Nothing more to add here.
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friedman and keynes are the forefathers of the economic entanglement/slavery we are living in; that said, their “knowledge”, “wisdom”, means zip-s***. I think of it just as a badly developed opinion based on assumptions that are severely wrecked. (just as they were btw)
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Throw the word “disaster-capitalism” and see who falls in-line with that one. Just as if capitalism isn’t a disaster itself.
Now comes the best part for me; the cornerstone of this hipocrytical-web-of-self-apointed-something-known-as “the research suggests”. Here we go:
- The China Hustle:
Individual citizens, and even whole populations, can lose their economic sovereignty, while tech companies and central governments track and manage how citizens’ funds can be spent.
Any news here? Or hasn’t it been happening since ever before?
But digital ID schemes have always proven to be an intolerably hot potato in the U.K., [consistently rejected] by the public because of snooping concerns.
I wonder to what depth this people can breath underwater; they for sure can go to the deepest of depths concerning the ability to convey dissimulated information. Isn’t the U.K. of her majesty, London specifically, the top, if not 3rd, 5th, of massive street surveillance? Not to mention of course that England if one of the most surveilled.
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Surveillance systems are “good” for the “good” countries, they keep “criminals” off the streets; well, wouldn’t that be the same exactly case with a digital ID? To, just a matter of fact, we all are running into in the not so distant future? Beacuse in the country where I live, Portugal, everyone, born or other wise nationalized, does have a digital ID; what’s the fuss? It’s good for us and bad for them?
When countries like Ethiopia need to bounce back from war, they ultimately need support rebuilding infrastructure and strong democratic institutions, including effective legal and tax systems.
Does this guy live in Mars or something? Maybe he’s been spending too much time fooling around in his own little “sandbox”. I do see where “democratic” institutions left Europe, after what? And ofc, if not even Portugal have a “effective legal and tax system” and we are playing this charade for almost 879 long years, how is it expected for one of the most war raveged countries in the contemporary time succeed without some basics allready occuring around the world?
Fanciful libertarian experiments with cryptocurrencies, benefiting only crypto-rich investors elsewhere, should go find another sandbox.
I think here he did quote some inside article of FMI/BIS/WB; about “sandboxe’s” to play with. Weren’t this institutions the most “economic libertarian” that existed.
About your comment, I.C.D. will only have effect to the extent that the “major” players want; after all they control all the supplys, i.e. money/specialized work force/investment capacity and so on, needed for any country evolve.
Ofc they do have cell phones, and I do bet my right-hand that even the worst is better than mine. And internet is not a problem anyway; with a mesh they can easely circumvent the low signal. Which is what the Tanzanya company is doing.
cheers
P.S. I don’t always overextend, but when I do, I make sure I did it.
From Twitter: "Charles Hoskinson@IOHK_Charles (https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles)
- Honestly @CoinDesk (https://twitter.com/CoinDesk) has just lost the fucking plot at this point [https://coindesk.com/the-headache-of-crypto-colonialism…] (https://www.coindesk.com/the-headache-of-crypto-colonialism) they’ve gone from grudgingly admitting that our projects exist to calling the efforts crypto-colonialism in opinion pieces.
Glad you did. I’ll digest all that in no time!
I have to admire the pair of stones Hoskinson has.
As someone said:
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
cheers
This topic is about macro stuff. Politics, influencers, etc. And it’s no joke to see banks, governments, and Dexs involved in legal conflicts and boycotts towards crypto. Basically, the benefits of blockchain technology are not discussed here, any more than the benefits of building a school or taking medicines to villages in the interior of a developing country are discussed. Hoskinson clearly assumed in a video that he is an American and a capitalist - companies are for making money. There is no video on his personal channel where he does not complain about external criticisms against the Cardano project, which he defends more than criticisms directed at himself. But it is equally true that in the same social media context, he can mix the topic of the 5 million Africans who will join the Cardano ecosystem and his passion for his Lamborghinis. Aside from my opinion about extreme individual wealth and Lamborghinis, I’m not sure how beneficial the fusion between Cardano’s image and Charles Hoskinson’s image is - who is moreover followed by many people as if he were a cult Guru. Linux once had a face - I am glad that it hasn’t anymore and it became a truly decentralized operating system. All my respect for Richard Stallman (whose conference in Lisbon I attended in 2003), but that’s when you realize that a project has matured, when it doesn’t need a personality to push it anymore. Algorand, for example, is making its way, and we rarely hear about them. I don’t understand the need to constantly appear on twitter and youtube, publicly addressing media figures, fueling controversy, etc.
I’ll jump the the first 4/5 of your comment; honestly I don’t understand what you meant.
What does being an american have to do with being a capitalist? Companies aren’t for making money, that’s the banks; companies are for making profits, which are needed to sustain them.
Don’t confuse complaining with stating a personnal opinion, which as matter of fact is correct; naturally he defends the project, and cares little to nothing about direct attacks. That said, he’s doing a hell of a job being the “image” of Cardano; Don’t buy the rotten fish pitch of the “cult guru”, what are uncle bill, the nephew berg, the comrade bezos and the dodgy “influencer-musk”? I don’t know, but did Richard Stallman receive death threats? Understand that being a “public image” is much more complex than being a public shadow; let alone being a living influencer shadow.
Abundance and luxury are too different things; does owning a lamborghini, or more, states that you live a life of luxury? Did he lie stating, in the same video or w/e, that 5 million africans will join Cardano and that he loves lambos? I don’t understand the correlation you are trying to make; and I don’t think it’s statement is contradictory.
You do know that once Voltaire settles, which is already happening btw, Hoskinson did state he’s “moving on”? That the network will be sustained by the people and for the people? Already happening as matter of fact; indeed since it’s inception. Do the math.
I’ll give you another perspective to think about; do you believe that if Cardano wasn’t always being negatively and hipocritically addressed, Hoskinson would waste such amount of energy and time fighting back? Well, to all the feeble minded “humans” always trash talking the time frames of this and that, the w/e that and this, point your finger to the mirror, say it loudly and proudly, “I can do better!”, and actually DO IT; stop living, so Hoskinson can have some time to think, work and live himself; word of advice. I think that we would be discussing Basho already if that was to happen.
cheers
P.S. Try to ask around for Hoskinson credentials on the crypto world and you’ll have a, maybe, deserved satori.
P.S. 2 Twitter and facebook won’t cut it.
I follow Hoskinson’s youtube channel, indeed I did not take note on that particular video reference where he made that statement, and that companies are for making money (profit i guess) - not me. I just took note that you said that capitalism is a disaster, so was trying to find some correlation.
I just read the comments on the videos and Twitter…
No lies, not sure what you mean regarding abundance and luxury - is a Lamborghini any of those? Just mixing all those things, particulary private life and Cardano, just doesn’t look a great marketing strategy. I have no knowledge of Silvio Micali being “attacked” by the media… and if its true not sure why not.
So, regarding the issue of crypto-colonialism, or economic colonialism in Africa, nothing new here.
As I said at the beginning of the topic, the issue of validation of the International Cooperation and Development market, as I know it and have worked on it, is one of the most difficult discussions I have had. I hoped that here, after Coindesk’s “attack” on the Cardano project (Atala Prism?), it would be possible to clarify how the blockchain technology, through its decentralized structure, low implementation costs, or any other technical argument, could be brought about for discussion and help clarify and counter-argument.
Ok, Hoskinson says he’s a capitalist; I say capitalism is a disaster. (i’m not saying Hoskinson is a disaster for being a capitalist btw)
What’s the correlation? I’m not following.
That’s exactly what I meant; you base your comment saying he’s a “cult guru” and now you are telling me that it’s just what you read on twitter; do you follow thats exactly what I meant?
Check the meaning of abundance and of luxury, and you’ll understand what I mean. It may feature in both of the meanings. But as soon as you read their meanings you’ll know what I mean.
The IOG CEO, which is Hoskinson, isn’t the marketeer of the product, Cardano, thats the job of the CF. And if they think he is taking the Cardano image down the drain, it’s a problem between them; as long as they don’t push each other to the edge.
Micali comes from a long line of primordial fossils, had time and some back scratching to get to the position of not being attacked, anymore possibly. Maybe he once was attacked, IDK, one things for sure,
" A man with no enemies is a man with no character.".
Check the last interview of di Iorio, in which he says why he’s quitting crypto. I’ll leave you one direct quote of him:
“It’s got a risk profile that I am not too enthused about. I don’t feel necessarily safe in this space. If I was focused on larger problems, I think I’d be safer.”
So, Atala PRISM is like having a citizen digital ID database in the blockchain. What happens in Portugal is we all have digital ID’s, which are in the cloud, and the government tells us that they are safe, not true, and being managed accordingly our constitutional rights. That said, the blockchain is safer due to what you may already know. The best counter-argument is the safety of the chain to which you will attach that data. That’s all.
cheers
I consider a public accusation of “crypto-colonialism” in the media to be a very serious issue and one that deserves more than an insult in response. On the contrary, it deserves a discussion and exhibition of data and arguments that unquestionably disprove an idea that is plausible if we think about the International Cooperation and Development market.
A discussion on this topic can also fall into a critical perspective on how Charles Hoskinson manages his public image in the media, although this is not the aim of this topic at all - regarding this secondary topic I recommend consulting the topic posted on Reddit and which led to a constructive, diverse and serene exchange of ideas: https://www.reddit.com/r/cardano/comments/lj1sfs/is_charles_hoskinsons_cult_of_personality/
As for the possibility of blockchain technology being able to hide new forms of economic colonialism over developing countries, I hope to see more developments, if not here, than on some other platform.
Do the math, and come here after so we can really have an exchange of thoughts instead of being a waste of time going around a loop.
I don’t think you want a discussion but rather someone who will appall you with some mind-boggling fact about why Cardano is crypto-colonialist; and it will obviously be directly related to the fact that the CEO is a cult guru with personnality cult issues.
I’ll give myself a break from this topic.
cheers