Bitcoin maximalism & moral superiority

Maximalism is a relatively new cultural phenomenon, and I believe it didn’t exist before crypto, at least not in this modern, digital form. Originally, it was a defense mechanism for the Bitcoin community to fight off the ever-increasing number of alternative blockchains, popularly called alts. Therefore Bitcoin maximalists are a synonym or, let’s call it, a patient zero when it comes to this topic.

Maximalism is a natural occurrence, though; it’s happening in every area of life where people identify themselves with certain groups and ideas. There is healthy maximalism, like in sports, where people cheer for their teams but are mature enough to accept defeat and acknowledge the temporary superiority of the other side. But there is also a toxic type of maximalism that stifles progress and is deteriorating the ecosystem, and that’s the type of maximalism that I would like to address here.

I believe that it is important to fight toxic maximalism ferociously because it is an extremely destructive force. To do that, we have to understand its root in order to challenge them publicly and occupy the higher moral ground.

Yes, moral ground, because morality is the essence of every maximalism, a belief that somehow their system is morally superior to every other system.

Moral superiority is their Achilles heel though, the soft underbelly.

I often compare blockchains with religions and how their supporters inherit similar dogmatic behavior. This phenomenon will get more obvious; further we go in the crypto timeline. In my old post from 2018, I said that crypto is a spiritual journey of our digital generation. A spiritual journey naturally attracts individuals who tend to develop dogmatic beliefs because of their insecurities and narrow-mindedness.

Maximalists are here to stay, though, so we have to constantly keep them at bay, make sure that technology is moving forward, and stays relatively neutral. Technology should serve all layers of society, not just fanatics. If we leave technology to fanatics, then it’s all lost for us humans.

In essence, Bitcoin maximalists are more interested in moral superiority than sound money.

People obsessed with moral superiority have an inherent desire to be right all the time and control the narrative, to the point where any contrarian opinion is labeled as blasphemy. Bitcoin maximalists often talk about having sound money, but I believe this is not their true goal, but just a cover-up to exercise their need for gaining moral superiority at any cost.

Some people believe that humans are in control of nature; therefore, they develop a belief system that puts humans in charge as know-it-all entities. These kinds of people cling to belief systems and technologies to exercise that superiority and control. But on the contrary, humans have very little control; all we can do is react and adapt to outside stimulations.

Dogmatic people are afraid of such reality, being helpless, being in the dark, not knowing true from wrong; therefore, they create a system that puts them in charge, artificially, to come up with their own rules, deciding what is right and what is wrong.

Bitcoin is a perfect vessel for onboarding fanatics. A new concept that evolved around the idea of being pure, above humans (trustless), leaderless, with only spirit of Satoshi and holy Whitepaper leading the way.

The problem is that moral superiority is the exact opposite of A/B testing; it basically forbids ever to question the A with a B.

In order to adapt, humans are continuously performing A/B tests, in all areas of life, from food, energy, clothing, housing, technology; we test all kinds of materials and concepts to produce the best possible results. The A/B testing is an essence of every technological and scientific advancement,

Maximalists are essentially afraid that if B is better, in any way, they will lose their moral superiority, and that’s something they can’t allow, so they must defend the A with everything they got.

Losing moral superiority is their biggest fear. They are ready to sacrifice everything for that, including the very thing they are defending, in this case, the idea of sound money. A typical case where excessively loving mother chokes her own child by holding it too tight.

The universe keeps dropping challenges onto us all the time; therefore, technology development can never stop. Those who are stuck in a maximalist mentality suffer internally because they are fully aware of their limitations, but they can’t give up their superiority in order to grow; therefore, their brains kick into cognitive dissonance as a last resort to protect their view of the world.

An interesting showcase of toxic maximalism is Bitcoin energy consumption. In those early days, the Bitcoin maximalists developed their moral superiority by claiming that Bitcoin technology is pure, there are no downsides, and humans can only benefit from it. But last few years, we all became aware that the Bitcoin network is energy-hungry and is turning into a real-world problem.

Suddenly, their moral superiority is challenged. The only way to keep that illusion alive is to kick into cognitive dissonance, dismiss these problems as unreal or overblown, or attack other blockchains for being inferior or trying to damage Bitcoin. Suddenly their moral superiority is not so superior, and it makes them nervous; therefore, they are becoming more and more aggressive in defending it, which further alienates moderate supporters.

I believe that Bitcoin is much bigger and more important than these fanatics and that eventually, they will become a minority. At the same time, Bitcoin will march forward, attracting more mature individuals who are willing to acknowledge issues and work on them.

Therefore I believe that the future of Bitcoin is bright. Eventually, those issues will be addressed and resolved, and maximalists will be pushed into their little dark corner, where they belong.

They will continue claiming moral superiority, but at that point, nobody will care; the world will move on without them.