'Radical Political Decentralization' Could End Nation States

Renowned libertarian theorist and economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe recently did an interview with the Polish weekly publication Najwy?szy Czas! In the interview, Hoppe criticized the “democratic socialism” phenomenon, saying that people should follow the “inevitable process of devolution and political decentralization.”

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Hans-Hermann Hoppe Believes People Should Embrace Decentralization

Hans-Hermann Hoppe doesn’t seem to be a fan of Bitcoin but still believes people worldwide should put their faith into the radical political decentralization happening globally. Through education and innovative technologies, the nation states are increasingly becoming more irrelevant every day. With concepts like Bitcoin, BitTorrent, and movements like free market libertarianism the idea of state control and democratic socialism is becoming less appealing to global citizens.

Hoppe believes economic movements such as the recent Brexit is just the beginning of decentralizing these powers. Throughout the interview, he scoffs at central planners using democratic elections that in his opinion pillage the productive people so unproductive people may benefit. Redistribution by looting is a common occurrence in the eyes of Hoppe and in time these practices will fail.

The libertarian professor says the EU was one of the first steps in creating a super-state that is dominated by the U.S. and its Federal Reserve System. The libertarian theorist states that throughout these planned interventionist tactics “all democratic politicians, with almost no exception, are morally uninhibited demagogues.”

Hoppe believes people need to develop a “clear vision” that goes against the grain of the current nation states systems. At the end of the interview he declares:

Don’t put your trust in democracy, but neither should you trust in a dictatorship. Rather, put your hope into radical political decentralization, not just in India and China, but everywhere.

Austrian School Doesn’t Believe in Bitcoin Yet

Back in 2013 Hans-Hermann Hoppe was asked by another fellow libertarian philosopher Stephan Kinsella in Turkey about his thoughts on Bitcoin being money. At the time, the prominent libertarian did not consider the cryptocurrency a money like gold and precious metals and still may not believe in Bitcoin as such.

Kinsella asked him if he agreed that the regression theorem introduced by Ludwig Von Mises is proof that only a commodity could turn into money. Kinsella explains Hoppe avoided the question by saying, “in any case bitcoin does not violate the regression theorem—since people spent money to purchase them because they valued them, for some reason—sort of like when people want a signature on a book or some collector’s item.”

Hoppe is not the only Austrian that has been skeptical about Bitcoin. Another libertarian philosopher Walter Block says that Bitcoin still has a hard time gaining acceptance, and states that “when and if bitcoin is generally accepted for such purposes, it will then become money.”

Also, the well known Libertarian Robert Murphy in 2013 said Bitcoin isn’t money in his eyes either, saying at least “not yet.” However, Murphy has since changed his tune on the cryptocurrency and has released a book called Understanding Bitcoin A Liberty Lover’s Guide to the Mechanics and Economics of Cryptocurrencies.

The authors, Silas Barta and Robert Murphy, state:

Because Bitcoin is a private currency, widespread adoption of it would mitigate all of the evils of the State’s monopoly on money. First and foremost, the menace of inflation would be forever vanquished—households and businesses could make long-term plans with much more confidence about the market value of the currency.—In this respect, note that Bitcoin is superior to even the traditional commodity monies of gold and silver.

Hoppe’s Opinions on Bitcoin May Change

With other libertarian thinkers giving Bitcoin a second chance, Hoppe could possibly change his mind due to his current standpoint on people embracing radical political decentralization. The world is changing, and many people around the globe realize how much of a failure the nation states are and that the digital revolution is increasing sovereignty on a daily basis.

People are starting to see that good ideas do not require force, and taxation violates voluntary exchange and individualism. Hoppe says “each and every” nation state using force against its citizens in this manner leads to economic failure and monopolies.

He adds that “Economic success of a country depends on three interrelated factors: the security of private property and property rights, the freedom of contract and trade, and the freedom of association and disassociation.” With this in mind, Bitcoin may just become the perfect tool that could help enable these conditions to improve economic practices.

What do you think about Hans-Hermann Hoppe telling people they should embrace radical political decentralization? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of the Mises Institute, Understanding Bitcoin, and Natalie Fawn Danelishen