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Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

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Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#371

Post by dsfyu404ed »

_bxg1 wrote: post #301
mmsimanga wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From where I am standing I wonder if this is not reflection of the ineffectiveness of governments. In my part of the world there is a lot more talk about devolution, basically self governance of the different regions. Everyone is sick and tired of decisions being made from the capital city by people who do not have your interests at all.

It's not hard to make the case that today's governments are tired and slipping and in need of reform. But there's no such thing as the libertarian fantasy of "lack" of governance. Human nature dictates that if there's a power vacuum, it will be filled. If it isn't filled carefully with a system designed to serve the people, it'll be filled by whoever can take it for themselves. And whether that's a feudal lord or Mar…

> But there's no such thing as the libertarian fantasy of "lack" of governance. Human nature dictates that if there's a power vacuum, it will be filled. If it isn't filled carefully with a system designed to serve the people, it'll be filled by whoever can take it for themselves.

Then let that power vacuum be filled on the state and local level.

West Virginia and California should be free to run their societies into the ground (or not) in their own ways without the other telling them how to do it or being on the hook for the cost.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#372

Post by the_duke »

brd529 wrote: post #350
navigatesol wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Users pay the fees both directly (annual costs, interest) Both avoidable. Many zero fee cards, interest only on monthly balances. Some zero fee cards even offer rewards (read: net positive over cash). > indirectly (increased prices due to vendor fees) I'd need to see some data that the convenience of credit cards to both consumer and retailer has increased prices. I do know that explicitly raising prices to cover f…

It’s a total tax on the entire ecosystem. Every merchant that chooses to accept credit cards has to build 2-3% into their margins to cover the interchange fees. It’s often against their agreement with visa/mc to charge the fees for credit transactions only and so they build them into the base cost.

As a side note, the situation is a bit better in Europe, where considerable regulation was introduced recently. With mixed but positive results. Interchange fees were capped to 0.3% for credit cards.

This is a nice summary if you are interested: https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news-insights/insight...

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#373

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

_bxg1 wrote: post #200

Terrifying, really. The world is hurdling back towards a feudalist society, with corporations instead of kings.

No. Your ideas of what 'feudalism' implies are totally wack and ahistorical.

Feudalism was a time of laissez-faire, political liberty and anarchism.

"The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal" was the motto of feudalism. It was a reaction against the centralization and coercion of the old Roman Empire.

How is this anything like Facebook et al?

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#376

Post by fsociety »

baby wrote: post #121
imw wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of interesting physics in building thermonuclear weapons. Doesn't mean you should do it. Your talents could be used to help the world. Instead, they are being used to enclose common spaces and pull apart the fabric of society. Get a better job?

I appreciate your point of view, FWIW I believe that I'm doing net positive work for the world. If you don't believe such projects should exist, you can at least agree that such project will inevitably happen and that it is a good thing that they have people like me onboard to influence them in the right direction. I will write more about the things I work on and why I think these are good things on my blog www.crypt…

It's not that these projects shouldn't exist, it is that THIS project shouldn't exist. Facebook and co have already proved they can damage society in devastating ways - continuing on this line of thought with currency and expecting it to go any other way is naive thinking. I say this as someone who would happily work at FB (just not on this).

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#379

Post by cicero »

viscanti wrote: post #287
yumraj wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is even more terrifying is that this is being done by Facebook which has a person like Mark Zuckerberg, who has again and again shown that he has no moral compass and has complete disregard for people privacy rights and by extension other rights, as its dictator, with no real board oversight due to how stocks are structured.

> this is being done by Facebook which has a person like Mark Zuckerberg, who has again and again shown that he has no moral compass and has complete disregard for people privacy rights Sure. But think about all the money they can make from selling ads if they know everything that people buy. Doesn't he have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value?

I assume you are joking, but your statement highlights the problem with a "moral" system rooted in maximizing shareholder value. I think free enterprise markets have many advantages, but there has to be a better grounding for ethical decisions.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#380

Post by landryraccoon »

logfromblammo wrote: post #338
yumraj wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is even more terrifying is that this is being done by Facebook which has a person like Mark Zuckerberg, who has again and again shown that he has no moral compass and has complete disregard for people privacy rights and by extension other rights, as its dictator, with no real board oversight due to how stocks are structured.

Every mortal may be ousted from their offices; the wisest will provide a peaceful means for doing so. As Zuckerberg has obviated any lawful means of removing him, by structuring the stock classes such that he holds the majority of votes, he should probably hire more personal security. If he's going to be someone that's completely unaccountable for his actions as head of the company from within the accepted structures…

Oh for crying out loud. If it bothers you that much, delete Facebook and all apps related to the FB ecosystem from your phone and install a tracking blocker. If enough people do this, then Facebook ceases to be relevant just as much as Myspace did.

If that won't work because everyone else is on Facebook, then obviously most people don't share your opinion that Zuck is that big of a threat that needs to be ousted right? So you either have to accept that the majority of people are ok with it or convince them to ditch Facebook also.

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