Self-Custody: The Future of National Defense

Imagine a hypothetical world without an established medium of exchange. In this imaginary world, people are simply bartering. But then someone comes along and says, “Hey, you know that tomorrow we’re all going to be using gold as money, right? We need to get as much as we can now before tomorrow comes.” Assuming you trust this person, any rational person would want to run to the gold mine and buy as much gold as they could reasonably afford. This part is easy. The problem comes after that. Imagine someone riding a horse and carriage, slowly making his way home with mountains of gold shining on his cart. what’s the matter? Bandits suddenly come out and rob the man blind. To prevent this, buying one gold coin, hiding it at home, creating a safe storage area, and then buying more is a healthy way to protect your wealth. Once you get better at keeping it safe, you can buy more. In other words, there is a direct relationship between the size of your gold pile and your ability to keep it safe.

Let us now consider the nature of power and resources in the context of human civilization. According to Major Jason Lowrey’s force projection theory, according to the second law of thermodynamics, the universe organizes itself so that energy (force) is used to dominate other energy (resources).^One. For example, cell membranes project power as a barrier that contains the molecular resources that make cellular life possible. Power Projection is used by wolves, either in the form of pure aggression or simple growls and fang displays, to claim ownership of their latest kill when confronted by a potential thief. Not only does it help explain the development of molecular biology and behavior in the animal kingdom, but it also leaves readers without a doubt understanding how this truth applies to the context of human life. If I approached a person standing in front of a treasure chest and the person lifted his shirt to reveal a pistol hidden in his waistband, I would think twice about attempting to take the treasure. Depending on the bounty, the risk of death may outweigh the benefits of the treasure. This is the essence of power. Power is used to assert control over resources. It always has been and it always will be.

At the same time, this is an unfortunate truth that most people find somewhat uncomfortable. Most of us prefer a world where ownership of resources is managed peacefully and without violence. We prefer disputes over property ownership to violent competition. Most people prefer these disputes to be handled in a civilized manner. Notice how the term ‘civilized’ refers to our attempts to organize society around the ability to manage resources through mechanisms that do not require kinetic violence. Major Lowry calls this abstract power projection.^One. Over time, we have built languages, stories, rule sets, and institutions to organize ourselves more peacefully. But nature understands only the projection of physical forces. Abstract force projections are just projections of our minds. Therefore, physical forces tend to play the most important role in resource allocation.

Consider the term ‘sovereignty’. Sovereignty is defined as ‘supreme power’ and ‘freedom from external control’. Today we usually use this word in the context of country. A sovereign state is a state that is autonomous and free from domination or control by other states. In other words, sovereign is also used to refer to a monarch. The king or queen of a fief was sovereign because he was the only free individual within the political group. Everyone else under the sovereign was a subject. Consider the Powers and Queens in this scenario. Wealth Dynamics: People with adequate power tend to concentrate wealth. Wealth and power go together. That is, power tends to be physical or abstract, in the form of money. One is a natural form of power, the other is power. Despite being products of human civilization, the two influence each other and are two sides of the same coin. It is wielded by those who maintain physical control over others, who are able to accumulate most of their wealth and at the same time possess enormous wealth. Considerable power.

Bitcoin is generally viewed as a tool that can grant sovereignty to individuals. This is clearly explained because it is usually a financial instrument that can be self-stored. You no longer need to donate all your wealth to the bank. As the key holder, you directly own the asset. But this barely scratches the surface of the extent to which Bitcoin grants sovereignty. As Jason Lowry explains in his paper, Bitcoin is a revolutionary technology that allows humans to manage and allocate resources through physical power projection, rather than relying on abstract power projection as a peaceful but fragile alternative.^One. In this sense, mining Bitcoin and owning Bitcoin is real power. It is the same kind of power sovereign used to physically control resources.

With great power comes great responsibility. Going back to the analogy at the beginning of this article, when someone is solely responsible for defending their own resources, the question “How much?” The question is, “How to defend?” am. Like a monarch, moats, walls, and guards were all employed to protect his wealth and power. As military offensive technology improves, defense must follow suit. Fortress walls worked great until cannons were invented. The existence and continuation of a sovereign, whether a kingdom, a nation, or an individual, depends on its ability to continuously monitor, improve, and improve its ability to protect its resources. This responsibility and diligence lies with everyone in this new era where Bitcoin grants individual sovereignty.

This new form of defense does not include walls or moats. Although some degree of self-defense is necessary, this greatly emphasizes the importance of technical sophistication that allows someone to be at the forefront of self-custody practices. Self-custody is not something that can be out of sight and out of mind once it is decided. Just a few years ago, refrigerated storage with wired connections was generally considered cutting edge technology. The company then set out to invent a fully air-encapsulated signature device. Now it turns out that these types of devices are also problematic. This is because storing the seed phrase on the device itself exposes it to a variety of attack vectors. This means that stateless signature devices and scannable metal QR codes are starting to take the lead. In the future, the state of technology will change. The security of resources is an ever-evolving physical process that each must undertake to have and maintain sovereignty.

We live in truly amazing times. Hundreds of years ago, this planet was populated by a select few lords who ruled over vast lands and people. Advances in technology allow individuals to project physical force and manage their own resources. It means a changing world that brings freedom, prosperity, responsibility and hard work. We must once again become guardians of our property.

My work often returns to philosophical questions about the mind. In times like this, when discussing physical defense, bushido (無士道) comes to mind. Bushido roughly translates to ‘the way of the samurai’, and many argue that it captures Japanese cultural beliefs.². The eight virtues of the samurai code are justice, courage, mercy, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control.^three. These virtues are important not only because they are important for a samurai to behave properly in society, but also because refinement of the mind is essential to a warrior’s survival and ability to defend what is important to him. These virtues were very important to the samurai, and they have become essential as we move into an era of unprecedented sovereignty and responsibility for more and more individuals. As we move toward the future, it is best not to forget the wisdom and teachings of the past.

References

1. Lowry J. Softwar: A New Theory of Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin: Lowery, Jason Paul: 9798371524188: Amazon.Com: Books. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2023.
2. Benes O. Bushido: The Creation of Japan’s Martial Arts Ethic in the Late Meiji Period. 2011.
3. Nitobe I. Bushido. Shambhala Publications; 2005.

This is a guest post by Sydney Bright. The opinions expressed are solely personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.