Many of us in the haze of an enlightenment narrative in the 90s thought the web would empower through a decentralised model, and while it’s done that of course, it has also created powerful new sources of centralised power, monopolies, and walled gardens, that have challenged (and often won against) existing legal, societal, and political structures and norms.
It starts feeling a bit Neal Stephenson or Max Barry if you imagine a world in which monetary policy underpinning Western (and other) economies is further removed from existing political (especially democratic) levers.
Weber’s argument that states draw their legitimacy from a monopoly on the legitimate use of force is largely supported in Western economies by a monopoly on the legitimate exchange of value as well.
What does international trade, yet alone your annual tax return, look like in a world in which “govcoin” is just one (and a lower preferred one at that) of many currencies used day-to-day?