By Darren Parkin
As we peer into the abyss of societal collapse, it becomes increasingly apparent that our world is gripped by many issues, from underfunded public sectors to the relentless rise in the cost of living.
Healthcare, education, prisons, and even law enforcement are limping along, struggling for breath. The relentless march of inflation has made it feel like we’re running a never-ending race against our wages, with most people working harder but having less. It’s a grim narrative, one that threatens to engulf us all.
During this turmoil, our governments often seem to be playing a never-ending political chess game, primarily focusing on reelection. Short-term thinking prevails, and this myopic perspective fuels a cascade of decisions that exacerbate our societal woes. We face crises like life-threatening cladding on residential buildings and crumbling school infrastructure. Are we living out the prophetic words of “The Fourth Turning”?
The saying goes, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
Undoubtedly, we are hurtling toward challenging times, and the most unfortunate victims of this impending calamity are our children. The pandemic threw our young people under the bus, disrupting their education and leaving them ill-prepared for a world where artificial intelligence is reshaping the framework of knowledge and skills.
Our education system has been ill-suited to reality for a long time, favouring those who excel at rote memorisation over those who possess practical skills and creativity.
Nowhere is this disparity more evident than in regions that still employ the 11+ grammar school system. While I was in school, these exams were taken in the classroom, where the academically inclined naturally excelled. This has now become a military-style event with parents, students, and teachers on edge like never before!
However, today’s educational environment is marked by intensive tutoring starting as early as year 2, with childhoods sacrificed on the altar of academic achievement. These children are funnelled into schools that ride the coattails of pushy parents, ultimately leading them into lives marked by unfulfilling pursuits and mounting university debt for degrees of dubious worth.
Transitioning from the perplexing to the profound, The Guardian recently highlighted an increase in school absences post-COVID due to anxiety, while the BBC indicates that two million students have vanished from the system as a result of home schooling. The divide in our society is now omnipresent in education.
How did we arrive at this grim juncture? How did we construct a society offering so little genuine opportunity? Consider the proposal to extend advanced mathematics education to the age of 18 while the average reading age in the UK is around 9. It appears that as long as you can tick the right boxes, the quality of the job you do no longer seems to matter.
The answer to these questions lies in the concept of broken money. I reflect on my immigrant grandparents who arrived in this country after World War II. They were undoubtedly intelligent individuals, yet they could only secure unskilled labour.
Regardless, they owned a home, owned a car, raised two children, and visited their family overseas annually. Contrast that with today, where two university-educated professionals struggle to afford a home of their own. Compare that to our current time-poor existence and insurmountable debt.
It all boils down to the devaluation of our currency, where money seemingly has no intrinsic value. Money is not connected to the real world. It can be conjured out of thin air, and what we earn through hard work is rendered less valuable year by year. Without a sound monetary system, a functional society becomes an elusive dream.
We don’t need more government intervention to address the problems they have created. The government has now become too big. Rather, we need less intervention, allowing communities to chart their own destinies. We need more time with our families, access to nourishing food that doesn’t jeopardise our health, and an education system that truly works. We need a government that serves us, not one we must constantly serve.
Amid this crisis, Bitcoin has emerged as a lifeline. Unlike fiat currencies prone to government whims, Bitcoin embodies sound money principles. Its scarcity shields it from inflation. Acting as a stronghold against fiat’s relentless debasement and government unchecked ‘printing’.
Bitcoin empowers individuals and communities, wresting control over money from centralised authorities. It’s a borderless, decentralised currency, liberating communities from governmental monetary strongholds. Enabling them to forge their own economic destinies. We must escape the vicious cycle of devalued money leading us into the housing crisis, where homes are becoming a store of value rather than a haven. Where the price of your home is not increasing, it’s the value of your money decreasing.
Would we act differently if our money was worth more in the future, not less? Why does our economy only work with rampant consumerism and built-in obsolescence?
Imagine a future where Bitcoin allows us to prioritise what truly matters: more time with our loved ones, perhaps time to cook, and a reinvigorated education system. With sound money, we can forge a path toward a society where governments work for us, where prosperity and well-being flourish, and where we regain control of our financial destinies.
In these challenging times, Bitcoin offers not just a glimmer of hope but a tangible solution to the problems that ail our society. By adopting a Bitcoin standard, we can break free from the chains of broken money, build resilient communities, and set ourselves on a path toward a brighter future.
It’s time to embrace the power of Bitcoin and embark on a journey toward a reimagined, revitalised society. Ultimately, we need a form of money that operates outside of governmental control, as they have repeatedly proven themselves unfit to preserve our financial stability and well-being.
