A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin with Jason Maier – What Bitcoin Did

Jason Maier is a teacher and progressive Bitcoiner. In this interview, we discuss his inspiration for writing a book detailing his case, as a progressive, for Bitcoin. The public narrative and FUD surrounding Bitcoin is antithetical to progressives, but its utility aligns with progressive ideals.

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Bitcoin should be a broad church. The original cypherpunks philosophy was based on anarchist ideals, to work outside of government control. This stance is analogous to a wide range of political philosophies, including those on the left who feel disenfranchised by the current global capitalist hegemony. And yet Bitcoin has historically been seen as antithetical to progressives.

The main narrative is that Bitcoiners are predominantly libertarian, with explicit views on the need to reduce the size of government, the coercive nature of taxation, and the importance of self-reliance. In addition, there is considerable criticism about the environmental damage done by Bitcoin mining through the energy requirement. Given our polarized society, it’s not surprising that progressives are immediately turned off.

And yet there has been a marked increase in the number of progressive voices entering society in recent years. These people have risen to prominence because of their passionate and articulate advocacy of Bitcoin. There is a new wave of orange-pilled adoption that has identified broad utility that aligns with, rather than contradicts, progressive ideals.

Whether it’s that Bitcoin provides sovereignty and security to marginalized communities, that Bitcoin acts as a constraint on unbridled government economic power, or that Bitcoin actually enables market-driven solutions to environmental issues – there are many obvious fact-based reasons why progressives should be enthusiastic about the use of Satoshi’s innovation.

The reason why the increase in left-wing adoption has not turned into a flood is due, among other things, to education. There are a limited number of resources available to those starting their Bitcoin journey. This is where people like Jason Maier hope to make a difference. Material written by a progressive will provide an authentic message specifically tailored to this audience.

This should be exciting for all Bitcoiners. If Bitcoin is to become global money, we need as wide an audience as possible to see the value in it.