I'm not going to pretend I understand the intricacies of managing a modern economy in times of crisis and I can't argue with your historic examples. There are clearly problems that would require different solutions in a decentralised-driven economy.
However I think there are still a lot of things that a government could do too help its people in extreme situations, even if they were normally using a currency out of its control. Things that don't involve limiting the flow of currency or reducing its value.
The ideal of people being able to transact in a frictionless way, beyond borders and without having to deal with massive opaque entities (banks) just makes so much sense from my perspective that it's worth trying to find new solutions to any problems starting from that point.
I simply struggle to accept that an individual should suffer the consequences of an incompetent or malicious government in what should be a fundamental right (trading and securing your wealth). As a Greek I have experienced some of these consequences first-hand, in the form of capital controls and cross-border trading restrictions. People in other countries are experiencing them in a much more extreme scale.
But a citizen of a highly prosperous developed nation can still experience too much friction in day-to-day transactions that should be simple, a lot of which happens under the disguise of "your own security". Well, if someone wants to assume the responsibility of his own security, I don't see why he shouldn't be able to.
> As a Greek I have experienced some of these consequences first-hand, in the form of capital controls and cross-border trading restrictions.
If the most dramatic consequences you had to face from the past decade policies, you're probably pretty affluent among the Greeks (which isn't surprising here on HN, I don't think anyone here is part of the 30% lower incomes of his country)
> I simply struggle to accept that an individual should suffer the consequences of an incompetent or malicious government in what should be a fundamental right (trading and securing your wealth)
You're free to assign the priority you want in the role of State, depending on the personal believes and values, but I personally think there are more fundamental rights than trading or securing your wealth, and I'm not shocked to see a government making trade-offs between those rights.
In normal time, all those rights should be preserved and defended, but in troubled times it, I have no problem seeing a government cutting back the free trade right in order to provide food to everyone, or education, health, safety or whatever human basic rights I feel more important than business freedom. Call me a socialist if you want.
> If the most dramatic consequences you had to face from the past decade policies, you're probably pretty affluent among the Greeks
I don't live in Greece any more but no, I was earning a slightly above average full-time wage -which when you don't have a family, pay rent or care to go out much might feel pretty affluent, but if you have to support a family or pay rent because you don't want to live with your parents any more, is not.
My perspective is also the perspective of many people I know in Greece that are definitely not affluent (some earning sub €800 per month):
If you're lucky to have a stable job, you are working all day long to get a half-decent wage (that over the last decade lost 40% of it's effective value through tax increases, health contribution increases towards a completely broken health system, pension contribution increases -that you literally don't trust that you will get back, inflation, etc) and can't even do whatever the fuck you want with whatever little is left of it! They are strong-arming you to keep it in banks, transact through banks -accepting their fees and inconveniences-, restrict how much cash you can withdraw or spend, even limit what you can buy! They are still blocking Greek card transactions outside the country for a series of types of business such as gambling, pornographic, jewels, works of art, auctions, etc (which of course they fail to detect properly, so you get plenty of false positives :p)
Is this the most dramatic consequence considering everything else I just mentioned? Probably not, but it's the one that constantly reminds you that you're not in control of the rewards of your own labor. And it's also the one that you can suddenly avoid for good, giving them the finger, thanks to cryptocurrencies.
> Call me a socialist if you want.
Socialist policies can work great if a government is competent and honest like perhaps in Scandinavian countries. The problem is that no-one can guarantee when and for how long a government will be like this.
What's interesting in what you describe about the greek situation, is that it's exactly what one should expect when a government lose its control on the monetary policy : instead of solving the problem by just printing money (at the cost of inflation) it needs to be much more intrusive in people's life in order to deal with difficult times.
Well, I'm happy with neither of the two because in their exremes they are both disastrous and disempower individuals. Who knows, if the monetary system had been out of central control from the beginning, there might had never been a financial crisis to begin with.
So I'd rather make both choices impossible for my government and be in control as an individual, for better or for worse. Socialism in Greece has failed. Either failed to exist, or failed to work, failed regardless.
However I think there are still a lot of things that a government could do too help its people in extreme situations, even if they were normally using a currency out of its control. Things that don't involve limiting the flow of currency or reducing its value.
The ideal of people being able to transact in a frictionless way, beyond borders and without having to deal with massive opaque entities (banks) just makes so much sense from my perspective that it's worth trying to find new solutions to any problems starting from that point.
I simply struggle to accept that an individual should suffer the consequences of an incompetent or malicious government in what should be a fundamental right (trading and securing your wealth). As a Greek I have experienced some of these consequences first-hand, in the form of capital controls and cross-border trading restrictions. People in other countries are experiencing them in a much more extreme scale.
But a citizen of a highly prosperous developed nation can still experience too much friction in day-to-day transactions that should be simple, a lot of which happens under the disguise of "your own security". Well, if someone wants to assume the responsibility of his own security, I don't see why he shouldn't be able to.