My intention wasn't to suggest people use Freicoin, it was to highlight that there are people experimenting with designing cryptocurrencies, and that Bitcoin isn't necessarily the end-all. Apologies if that wasn't clear!
I took a huge topic and reduced it to bite sized pieces, and likely did make a few mistakes in the process. And for those mistakes, I want to apologize, and would love some feedback so I can improve this discussion in the future.
But I think it's important to distinguish factual errors from economic opinions. Economics IMHO, like psychology, is fundamentally a behavioral science (there are a lot of people that even disagree on this topic!), so it can be hard to model it. That's one of the reasons why economists (like psychologists) can differ so radically in their views.
But feel free to disagree with my opinions of course! Vigorous debate is very important to understanding what's going on here, and I'm very comfortable with changing my mind. My goal is to get people to start thinking about the ideas of economic exchange, so that they can have a framework to truly understand what Bitcoin is trying to accomplish. If you demystify how every other currency in the world works, then you can compare them to how Bitcoin works, and make up your own mind if Bitcoin is a crazy idea, or the real thing.
I agree with you about Economics: the USD is based on one economic "story" and Bitcoin on a different one.
The part that gets weird is when people describe the USD through the lens of the Bitcoin story, which is really common in the Bitcoin and Gold communities but I don't think actually helps people understand the USD and how it works. If people are going to make an informed decision, they should be looking at Bitcoin through the lens of the claims of Bitcoin Economics, and USD through the lens of Fed Economics, and decide which if any are credible.
Sorry if the tone in the grandparent post came across as a little harsh, I know it's always easier to criticize than to create something yourself.
I took a huge topic and reduced it to bite sized pieces, and likely did make a few mistakes in the process. And for those mistakes, I want to apologize, and would love some feedback so I can improve this discussion in the future.
But I think it's important to distinguish factual errors from economic opinions. Economics IMHO, like psychology, is fundamentally a behavioral science (there are a lot of people that even disagree on this topic!), so it can be hard to model it. That's one of the reasons why economists (like psychologists) can differ so radically in their views.
But feel free to disagree with my opinions of course! Vigorous debate is very important to understanding what's going on here, and I'm very comfortable with changing my mind. My goal is to get people to start thinking about the ideas of economic exchange, so that they can have a framework to truly understand what Bitcoin is trying to accomplish. If you demystify how every other currency in the world works, then you can compare them to how Bitcoin works, and make up your own mind if Bitcoin is a crazy idea, or the real thing.