Bitcoin Celebrates Labor Day
Thoughts on parallels between Labor and Bitcoin
On this labor day, I am grateful people are willing to work for the goods and services I consume. And, as a firefighter, I’m proud to provide a service that people still find useful. As a Bitcoiner, naturally, on labor day, I think about parallels. Below are some thoughts on this labor day, that I hope foster additional thoughts for you.
-Human labor is decentralized by nature. While it can be collectively harnessed by a central entity, there is no world labor force, under which all labor is coordinated and controlled. In America we celebrate Labor Day as a national holiday. Like many of our holidays we celebrate the freedom to direct our labor where we chose. Not all nations and societies share this perspective. Additionally, the freedom to dispense one’s personal labor is dependent on the skills and opportunities available for an individual.
-Human labor serves as the foundation of the strength and security of production and GDP throughout the world. Growth in labor productivity (measured as GDP/hour worked) depends on three main factors: saving and investment in physical capital, new technology, and human capital. Human capital is, arguably, the most important of the 3 facets of labor productivity.
-Hash power and hash rate serve as the foundation of the Bitcoin Network’s security, strength and integrity. Hash Rate or Hash Power, most simply understood, is the computational power needed to mine Bitcoin. Additionally, hash power/rate serves as a baseline measurement of the computational power it would take to execute a 51% attack on Bitcoin, thus compromising it’s integrity.
-It’s interesting to apply the foundations of labor productivity, being saving and investing in physical capital, technology, and human capital to Bitcoin. It is clear that human capital plays far less of a pivotal role in Bitcoin.
-Many point out that military power is the closest comparison to hash power, but to that I say, “what is military power without the humans who serve/work the front lines and the human labor behind the production of its resources?”
“Although GDP is technically an economic indicator, proponents argue that it captures both economic and military capacity, because states can easily convert economic resources into military might”
-If all workers went on strike, the internal infrastructure of a company, city, state, nation would halt. Value halts. Operations halt. Look at office space and commercial real estate. It faces significant mark downs because the humans who populate the space stopped showing up. This is a key difference with the computational force that is hash power, in that the incentives of Bitcoin are such that a “protest” or “strike” would likely never occur in the mining of Bitcoin. If it did occur, it would be irrelevant. Perhaps this might change as Bitcoin gets closer to having its max supply in circulation.
-Bitcoin does create jobs. As Bitcoin continues to advance and deepen its position, as the most powerful digital network in the world, the value of having an ally in the most powerful securing human force in real life, human labor, would add to Bitcoins strength and security in the human IRL realm. With that said, I want to clearly state, Bitcoin would never be dependent on such an alliance.
-More ironically, imagine a future where AI stands before a global workforce to claim jobs, only to find a workforce that holds, supports, and builds on the very Bitcoin Network upon which AI’s existence may likely be based.
I envision a day when the relationship between Bitcoin and decentralized labor, the workers of the world, deepens. I like to call this world, Proof of Workforce, which is at the core of a nonprofit I formed with the same name. BTW the website is coming soon, proofofworkforce.org, I hope to get your input once it goes live.
Have a great Labor Day, and thanks to all you workers out there that provide a service or good we consume, and don’t forget to keep learning about Bitcoin!