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0 pointsReelin6y ago0 comments

> an obligation to make doing illegal things as easy as possible

(possible) != (as easy as possible)

The claim is that making illegal transactions impossible would cause societal harm.

I agree that it's an amusing idea, but it's also extremely important and not much talked about. Bruce Schneier touched on it in a 2018 essay (https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2018/11/surveillanc...).

> All social progress—from ending slavery to fighting for women's rights—began as ideas that were, quite literally, dangerous to assert.

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esoterica6y ago

But illegal transactions would still be possible without cash (people pay for drugs on Venmo all the time), just trickier and with a higher likelihood of getting caught. By your logic a cashless society would still be acceptable.

henrikschroder6y ago

It's the turn-key fascism that's worrying. People buy drugs with Venmo because they're fucking stupid, and because banks and governments don't crack down on it. But they could.

Wikileaks ran into trouble when all the major credit card companies decided to deny payments to them.

Cash ensures that all transactions are allowed, anonymous, and untraceable, no matter the nature of the transaction, no matter society's morals, and no matter who's currently in charge of government.

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