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If I were the devil, and fiat money was my tool.

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If I were the devil, I would promote a system where money, the lifeblood of an economy,

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is controlled not by tangible assets or real work, but by mere promises and the whims of

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policy makers.

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I would persuade people to trust in paper, convincing them that these printed notes represent

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real value, despite being backed by nothing more than government decrees, ever-growing

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debt, and the threat of violence for non-compliance.

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Then I would further abstract those flimsy paper notes, turning them into ones and zeros

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that could be printed digitally, with a few entries in the central bank spreadsheet, without

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the nuisance of a physical printing press.

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I would devalue the currency slowly, almost imperceptibly, making up some arbitrary number

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like 2% inflation per year, and my central bankers would make up all sorts of stories

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to convince the general public that this arbitrary inflation is somehow necessary for growth.

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Highly regarded economists would echo the words of the central bankers, dutifully doing

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my work for me, I would choose 2% inflation so that the people wouldn't notice they were

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being robbed until it was too late.

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Then I would give them scapegoats to blame, keeping my central bankers well-sheltered

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from the public's fury.

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I would encourage governments to print more money, to put a band-aid on short-term problems,

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by spending on whatever programs get them re-elected, all the while stealing the wealth

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of the people through the invisible tax of inflation.

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I would seduce the populace into believing that this fiat system offers freedom and prosperity,

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while in reality it chains them to an ever-spinning wheel of debt and boom and bust cycles, digging

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them into a hole so deep that they will never crawl out of it.

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I would create a society where the real value of labor and savings erodes, but the numbers

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in bank accounts rise, creating an illusion of wealth.

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I would use the productivity and efficiency gains of technology to hide the true extent

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of the problem.

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I would watch as people toil harder for money that buys less, and I would stoke the flames

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of discontent by making the rich richer and the poor poorer, yet masking the true cause

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behind complex financial systems and pseudo-intellectual jargon.

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If the people started to realize how much inflation was hurting them, I'd give them

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scapegoats, dutifully served to them by my political puppets.

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I would always make sure the truth stayed hidden.

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In the shadows, I would influence the creation of vast financial bubbles, making the economy

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a casino, where the house, the big financial institutions and central banks, always wins.

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I would lead governments into the temptation of unrestrained borrowing, spending future

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generations' wealth, ensuring that nations become hopelessly mired in debt.

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I would use this fiat system to erode national sovereignty, making countries dependent on

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the international lending institutions, who answer not to the people, but to their own

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clandestine agendas.

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I would watch societies divide and crumble under the weight of financial crises, yet

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distract them with consumerism, hollow promises of economic stimulus, and universal basic

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income.

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I would start wars that never end, and finance them with the creation of more money out of

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thin air.

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If I were the devil, I would hide the solution in plain sight, yet make it seem unattainable.

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A return to sound money principles, where money is a store of value, and not just a

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medium of exchange, controlled by the capricious winds of policy.

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But I would ensure that such ideas are labeled outdated, radical, or unworkable.

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If I were the devil, I would demonize the only solution that had a chance to shine a

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light on the darkness I am brewing in this world.

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That's right.

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If I were the devil, I would demonize Bitcoin, I would instruct my puppets in the media and

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in government to propagandize the populace, claiming Bitcoin is used by criminals and

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terrorists and the like, even though it's my paper money that's favored by criminals,

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terrorists, and the like.

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If that didn't work, my puppet pundits would scream that Bitcoin is burning the planet,

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even though it's the rampant waste and destruction created by my fiat money that is the scourge

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of this world.

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Yes, if I were the devil, fiat money would be my most cunning and destructive tool,

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for with it I could undermine economies, control governments, and keep the masses in perpetual

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bondage, all without firing a shot or drawing a sword, but merely convincing the world that

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the government paper is as good as gold.

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Yes, I would keep the masses fighting against each other instead of realizing who the true

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enemy is.

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In other words, if I were the devil, I'd just keep right on doing what he's doing.