> We've also extended protections for people lagging behind, for example by putting restrictions on what kinds of contracts can legally be entered into and voiding contracts that one party could not have reasonably been expected to understand, or entered into under duress or undue influence.
And are constantly bypassed in practice by those with more resources than others wrt engaging with the various legal systems (or corruption thereof) around the world.
> None of these protections exist under "smart" contracts
Not true, some people buy off chain legal insurance for a particular juridiction and only deal with protocols they have some legal recourse over. Some use multisig accounts with trusted parties.
> which is exactly why we can't and won't allow code to govern or mediate life as web3 envisions.
There is no shared we though, some individuals (and governments) will adapt to it, some wont, some contracts/cryptocurrencies will survive, some wont, and people will make the convenience trade-offs like they always have had as things change. If you are only willing to try to force someone else to do your dirty work of imposing on peoples freedoms, you'll be behind those who are willing to put you in the ground themselves to defend such irrespective of any particular jurisdictions laws.
> Your dystopian vision of "oops, you lost your retirement savings because you didn't decompile that contract before interacting with it, too bad", or "oops, you lost your retirement savings because someone beat your wife with a baseball bat until you handed over your private key, sucks to be you"--in short, the dystopia of "code is law"--flies in the face of thousands of years of jurisprudence and civilization.
Bad things will continue to happen to some people even with out smart contracts or cryptocurrencies (bad things which don't happen to most people in the course of their lifetime btw), but if you want to live your life in fear as an excuse to not learn and adapt in face of bad things that may happen, that's on you.
> Once the goldrush hype wears off people will realize how heinous the fundamental idea is and dump it in the gutter of history where it belongs.
Yeah, like when people stop being motivated by greed, like when central banks and governments stop debasing their currencies like they have through out history, like when large private banks and service providers stop blocking people from using their platforms, etc. Could happen, I'm not holding my breath.