Bitcoin - powered by greed? - page 3.

myrkul

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Quote from: Spendulus on May 21, 2013, 01:36:09 PM

Quote from: hawkeye on May 21, 2013, 11:29:20 AM

Greed is fine in the free market because to be greedy you have to provide products and services to people. ...

Thinking about it, I'm not even sure I know what greed actually is. I know the word is used many ways by different people, sometimes in a perjorative sense, sometimes in a descriptive sense.

Greed is simply self-interest. Wanting to improve your situation. Some people don't like that.

Spendulus

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Quote from: hawkeye on May 21, 2013, 11:29:20 AM

Greed is fine in the free market because to be greedy you have to provide products and services to people. ...

Thinking about it, I'm not even sure I know what greed actually is. I know the word is used many ways by different people, sometimes in a perjorative sense, sometimes in a descriptive sense.

hawkeye

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Greed is fine in the free market because to be greedy you have to provide products and services to people. This drives down the value of those products and services because you are increasing the supply. That is the only way to get money in a free market.

When you have a rigged system, like the current banking system for example, money is obtained at the expense of others and thus the greedy are getting resources at the expense of others. Inflation compacts the problems because it disproportionately hits the poorer in society while allowing the richer in general to attain more wealth than they otherwise would.

So it is the greedy using a rigged system to get more than their fair share that is a problem. Not being greedy per se. It's all about the context.

Thus, it's not being greedy that is the problem, it's the rigging of the system.

in that sense, Bitcoin is not a problem. It is providing a valuable resource to society with a net gain overall powered by greed if you will.

FinShaggy

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Google/YouTube

It is powered by greed, but also need in some cases.

Stampbit

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Bitcoin is powered by wishful thinking.

countryfree

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Your country may be your worst enemy

You forgot freedom. Bitcoin brings the long-awaited opportunity to make business operations without being under the umbrella of any central bank. Unregulated business! Without any documents, nor the taxman collecting its share, just like the Mafia's doing in Sicily.

minternj

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Come to the mining custom hardware forum if you want to see what greed does to people. Its like throwing raw meat to a pack of dogs in there.

No 1

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Ad Infinitum Et Ultra

powered by greed and the future all stars of the world Cool

myrkul

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Quote from: ktttn on May 19, 2013, 10:44:02 AM

The term greed actually does have linguistically negative connotations, and therefore is not a technically fit word to describe the motivations behind abstraction of trade.
A better word? Mutual Aid? Idunno...

Trade is entered not because you will help the other person, but because the other person will help you. (this is true for both participants) Mutual benefit might be a good term, or Rational self-interest.

Ekaros

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Greed is driving force.

And in lot of cases it has been one for bad.

It needs some counterpart to be benecifial for majority. And sometimes that means force like labor unions...

ktttn

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Capitalism is the crisis.

'Cancer research' on the whole may not be a scam, but mostly it sure seems to be.
The application of distributed computer power is not as strictly appropriate to astrobiology or medicine as it is to the pure number world of finance accounting.
The term greed actually does have linguistically negative connotations, and therefore is not a technically fit word to describe the motivations behind abstraction of trade.
A better word? Mutual Aid? Idunno...

Rassah

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Quote from: kungfoo on May 17, 2013, 02:24:11 PM

So I read that bitcoin is now the most powerful distributed computing project in history.

I find it ironic that the cure for cancer and the search for extra terrestrial intelligence are lower on the scale of human priority than currency. Not that I don't think bitcoin is good, or that greed is necessarily bad.

Is the success of bitcoin based on greed?

Is wanting to make money from a cure, or wanting to be world famous for a great discovery, greedy?

Spendulus

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Quote from: kungfoo on May 17, 2013, 02:24:11 PM

So I read that bitcoin is now the most powerful distributed computing project in history.

I find it ironic that the cure for cancer and the search for extra terrestrial intelligence are lower on the scale of human priority than currency. Not that I don't think bitcoin is good, or that greed is necessarily bad.

Is the success of bitcoin based on greed?

Yes, the maple kind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

Elwar

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Viva Ut Vivas

If there were a decentralized computer system used to power your home or run your cell phone it would likely get more processor power than Bitcoin.

We use money more than we use extra terrestrial knowledge or cancer research.

myrkul

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Quote from: super3 on May 17, 2013, 06:59:27 PM

It's not at all greed. Any Money fills 3 functions:

1) Unit of account
2) Store of value
3) Medium of exchange

Money simply means that I can sell my old camera then maybe buy some pizza with some of the proceeds vs trying to find someone will accept a camera for a pizza, and then give me something that is worth the camera-the pizza for change. Money fulfills a function that allows an economy to work to some degree of efficiency.

(Psst: Wanting that pizza is greed. Wanting to get the camera is greed. Wanting to get gas for your car is greed.)

super3

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It's not at all greed. Any Money fills 3 functions:

1) Unit of account
2) Store of value
3) Medium of exchange

Money simply means that I can sell my old camera then maybe buy some pizza with some of the proceeds vs trying to find someone will accept a camera for a pizza, and then give me something that is worth the camera-the pizza for change. Money fulfills a function that allows an economy to work to some degree of efficiency.

fredtrader

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Greed is the only way to motivate people, its an unfortunate reality.

Anon136

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Quote from: kungfoo on May 17, 2013, 02:24:11 PM

So I read that bitcoin is now the most powerful distributed computing project in history.

I find it ironic that the cure for cancer and the search for extra terrestrial intelligence are lower on the scale of human priority than currency. Not that I don't think bitcoin is good, or that greed is necessarily bad.

Is the success of bitcoin based on greed?

yes currency is more important than both of those things combined. If left unsolved the problem of the double coincidence of wants would cause a great deal more suffering on net than the problem of cancer. Same for the problem of being unable to save non durable goods. Same for the economic calculation problem.

myrkul

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Damn straight.

tinus42

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Topic: Bitcoin - powered by greed? - page 3. (Read 4738 times)