Remember that Coca-Cola is responsible for one of the biggest health issue of our civilisation: obesity, and Berkshire invested heavily in it.
Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
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Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#22I'm not a fan of Bitcoin, but often "contrary to the interest of civilization" means "contrary to the interest of me".
Yes, and yes. But, if Berkshire wanted to they could pump BTC to new heights and undoubtedly make a profit.
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#23The context of the quote: > I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... So, I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization. I find it strange to criticize an asset for how it gets used in extremis. I feel like the same criticism could be levied against the dollar.
Except the primary use of the dollar is good. The same can't be said about the primary use for Bitcoin (which is, at best, speculation).
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Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#24The context of the quote: > I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... So, I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization. I find it strange to criticize an asset for how it gets used in extremis. I feel like the same criticism could be levied against the dollar.
Except the primary use of the dollar is good. The same can't be said about the primary use for Bitcoin (which is, at best, speculation).
Have you traveled? Enough places where the dollar is not the national currency but still accepted and used for purchasing drug and weapons.
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#25"And I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth" You mean like cash? I'm sorry, I'm sure Warren is a nice guy but that picture reminds me of the Dukes in the movie Trading Places [1] with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_Places
When was the last time you tried to move a million in cash? It's not that easy...
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#26The context of the quote: > I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... So, I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization. I find it strange to criticize an asset for how it gets used in extremis. I feel like the same criticism could be levied against the dollar.
For any thing that has both positive uses and negative uses, it seems reasonable to weigh the positives against the negatives. The dollar has substantial non-infringing uses that benefit people. Bitcoin less so, and particularly when weighed against the great harms (environmental or criminal) that Bitcoin brings, I don’t find the criticism baseless.
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#27The context of the quote: > I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... So, I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization. I find it strange to criticize an asset for how it gets used in extremis. I feel like the same criticism could be levied against the dollar.
Except the primary use of the dollar is good. The same can't be said about the primary use for Bitcoin (which is, at best, speculation).
Isn’t that the same for gold? That it’s for speculation? Or stocks.
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#28"And I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth" You mean like cash? I'm sorry, I'm sure Warren is a nice guy but that picture reminds me of the Dukes in the movie Trading Places [1] with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_Places
Ransomers don’t choose cash first, they choose Bitcoin, because they know it is safe.
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#29It's just one more investment vehicle/speculative asset among thousands. What is the specific factor about Bitcoin that makes it "contrary to the interest of civilization"? Are these financiers telling us that the financialisation of literally everything on the planet and in low orbit might actually have negative externalities?
Re: Berkshire: Bitcoin is ‘contrary to the interest of civilization.’
#30The context of the quote: > I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth... So, I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization. I find it strange to criticize an asset for how it gets used in extremis. I feel like the same criticism could be levied against the dollar.
The difference is that someone can safely collect a Bitcoin ransom far from the police and can use it far from the police (no way to freeze a wallet etc.). This is called the "perfect crime" in research on ecash dating back to the early 90s.