I think it’s telling that the intellectual bogeyman of the right is still Karl Marx. I think it’s telling that most salient influences and forefathers of the figureheads of the left — whether more traditional, e.g., Joe Biden, or more Progressive, e.g., Bernie Sanders — are relics of the earlier 20th century.
Progressives, like Republicans and more traditional Democrats, are seemingly shackled to old frameworks, mining them eternally for new solutions.
Years ago, when I was in law school, my constitutional law professor began his course by asking us if we wanted the blue pill or the red pill of constitutional jurisprudence. Those of us who got the reference enthusiastically opted for the proverbial red pill, which he was going to administer to us anyway.
The red pill — the truth behind the artifice, per our professor — was that the U.S. Constitution is an old, increasingly inapplicable document that was never meant to remain comparatively unchanged and religiously adhered to for centuries. Which isn’t to say it’s not useful, historically momentous and foundationally solid. Most other countries have modified founding documents at various points, as lived experience dramatically changes over the course of centuries and compels more relevant guidance and renewed compacts, while our Constitution has remained relatively fixed, particularly after the initial flurry of amendments.
I think being progressive means being willing to think beyond the increasingly dusty set of frameworks we’ve been living with and allowing our ingenuity to lead us down new paths. In this context I am constantly thinking of Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert Jackson’s admonition that “there is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.”
Similarly, with respect to old frameworks and to partisan identities that are effectively shortcuts to thinking, doctrinairism is almost always an inhibition to progress.
So I care what Elizabeth Warren and her ilk say about Bitcoin only insofar as political perceptions matter in the short term for the type of regulatory environment we choose to create. But Warren and other Progressives do not get to dictate what is progressive by decree.
There is nothing more progressive, for example, than the work being done by folks like Troy Cross , Shaun Connell , Daniel Batten , Margot Paez , Nathaniel Harmon and so many others who are using Bitcoin as a tool for addressing climate change. Approval or endorsement (or the lack thereof) from Progressives does not change this.
To conclude, I think when we ask why Progressives don’t seem to take to Bitcoin — a technology that is inarguably pretty lowercase “p” progressive — we are presupposing that Progressives will always endorse progressive ideas. And I think this is simply not true, which is why I want to continue to press on what I think is a growing distinction between Progressivism and progressivism, particularly as it relates to economics and Bitcoin.
Though it may not be Progressive, Bitcoin is progressive. This is why, despite a warmer embrace from Republicans, Bitcoin does not belong to them. Classically Republican, Reagan/Bush-style family-values paternalism is, after all, still paternalism — just a different flavor than that of their political counterparts.
Ultimately, I think the stagnating two-party paradigm in America is precluding us from coalescing around promising tools — like Bitcoin — to address our most pressing issues. I think trying to claim Bitcoin for either side of the partisan divide is one of Naval Ravikant’s proverbial stupid games that yield only stupid prizes.
In my opinion, it is more useful to pursue lowercase “p” progressive values, meaning that which advances the highest aggregate quality of life and is not constrained by current systemic norms. This pursuit foregrounds ideas regardless of which partisan identity group feels more affinity for them.
This is a guest post by Logan Bolinger. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
