Bitcoin And The Revolution: How Bitcoin Will Overthrow The ‘System’ in Six Quotes

Its fiercest supporters, of which I am clearly a part of, see Bitcoin as a revolution that will push for a total paradigm shift in the current monetary and financial system. By comparing Bitcoin to famous quotes about revolution, it becomes obvious that Bitcoin’s chances of succeeding are growing with every passing day.

Is Bitcoin revolutionary?

Bitcoin is a real revolution that will play a decisive role in the world of the future. For its supporters, Bitcoin is purely and simply the only credible alternative to the current monetary and financial system.

‘Bitcoiners’ see themselves as missionaries, helping to facilitate the rise of Bitcoin so it can achieve its mission of building a more equitable future world for all.

The people who benefit the most from the current system are (logically so) fiercely opposed to Bitcoin. Politicians, central bankers and many economists have constantly criticised Bitcoin publicly.

Their goal is to discredit Bitcoin among the general public, in order to prevent its mass adoption in the years to come. Unfortunately for them, the Bitcoin revolution has already started. It’s an undeniable fact.

History has shown that it is impossible to stop a popular revolution in progress.

I will now present six famous quotes about Bitcoin and its history in order to explain to you why it will succeed in its goal.

 #1: “Every revolution was first a thought in one man’s mind…” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson is an American essayist, philosopher and poet who led the American transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

He was a keen observer of his time and his quotes inspired entire generations in the decades following his time on Earth.

The full quote is as follows:

“Every revolution was first a thought in one man’s mind, and when the same thought occurs to another man, it is the key to that era. Every reform was once a private opinion, and when it shall be a private opinion again, it will solve the problem of the age.”

    – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson explains that all revolution first starts in the mind of one person.

Bitcoin was born in the mind of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin was launched on 3rd January 2009 and at first it was just the culmination of one person’s dream. In the early days of Bitcoin’s story, Nakamoto was joined by crypto enthusiasts known as cypherpunks.

They were eager to come and test this fully decentralised peer-to-peer payment system based on cryptography.

The cypherpunks were then joined by innovators.

And then, the emerging success of Bitcoin convinced more and more early adopters to come and discover this revolutionary new payment system. Satoshi was therefore joined in his dream by an increasing number of people.

Day after day, new people came to discover Bitcoin. In the coming years this movement should grow as the price of Bitcoin continues to rise.

This grouping of people supporting Bitcoin in its revolution, to use the term used by Ralph Waldo Emerson, should allow it to become a key system of its time.

#2: “You can kill a revolutionary but you can’t kill the revolution.” – Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton was an African American political activist and member of the Black Panther Party (BPP). He was a revolutionary who notably fought for the civil rights of black Americans.

Fred Hampton was murdered by the FBI and the Chicago Police Department when he was only 21 years old.

Despite his death, the revolution that Fred Hampton had helped to scale up continued and led to the recognition of the civil rights of blacks in the United States.

Fred Hampton

When he explained that one can kill a revolutionary but not a revolution, it showed Hampton’s visionary nature.

With the creation of Bitcoin, Nakamoto could be considered a revolutionary.

He immediately understood the importance of remaining anonymous so that Bitcoin could become a leaderless revolution, in turn making Bitcoin unstoppable.

Governments of countless countries around the world have no one to blame/sue/kill in an attempt to stop the spread of Bitcoin. The Bitcoin revolution is supported by too many people around the world now for it to be stopped.

#3: “A failing state cannot stop a revolution whose time has come.” – Ron Paul

Ron Paul is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. When he said that, Ron Paul was obviously not thinking about Bitcoin (this quote is actually a modernisation of Victor Hugo’s quote).

Ron Paul

However, this sentence turns out to explain perfectly well why states cannot stop Bitcoin.

States fail by supporting outdated monetary and financial systems which do not protect and serve the people as they should.

These failed states will not be able to stop a revolution like Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin revolution will take time, but it’s time will come because countries will have nothing better to offer to their people.

As time goes by, more and more people are trying to find out how money works. It’s a certainty. The more they learn about how money works, the more they will understand that something is wrong with the current system.

They will then seek in Bitcoin a complete paradigm shift that protects them much better in general, and their conclusion will be clear: Bitcoin is the only credible alternative to the current system.

#4: “All revolutions are impossible until they happen; then they become inevitable.” – Albie Sachs

Faced with the current system, there are three categories of people:

1. Some are completely satisfied with the system and see no reason to change it.
2. Others are unhappy with the system but do not think it is possible to change it.
3. Some are trying to change it and are convinced a better solution exists.

The first two categories of people say that a system that has been in place for so many years and is supported by the world’s greatest economic powers cannot be replaced.

These types of people therefore think that those who are trying to build a better solution are fantasists.

To those people who think Bitcoin is an impossible revolution, the quote from Albie Sachs is there to remind us that a revolution is, by nature, always impossible, until the day it happens.

Albie Sachs, South African jurist

Once a revolution takes place, retrospectively it appears inevitable. A totally decentralised and leaderless peer-to-peer payment system like Bitcoin seemed impossible.

At least that’s what we thought until 2009.

However, after a decade of Bitcoin being in existence, it is clear that for a growing number of people the Bitcoin revolution now seems inevitable.

When Bitcoin has completed its revolution, many will probably come to wonder why it had not been done before.

 #5: “Revolution is not a one time event.” – Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde was an American writer, but also activist, whose feminism pushed back against society’s tendency for categorisation. With regard to revolutions, Audre Lorde explained very well that a revolution is not a single event.

Audre Lorde

A revolution is something that takes time, and happens over time.

It is exactly the same for Bitcoin.

When it was created, Bitcoin had little support. Very few people thought Bitcoin could become a credible alternative to the current monetary and financial system.

However, then, by getting stronger and stronger and rising out of all the difficulties it fought through, Bitcoin won over more and more people.

So the Bitcoin revolution is taking time, but that’s a good thing. To be truly rewarded for this revolution, you too will need to be patient and resilient in choosing to become a Bitcoin ‘HODLer’.

#6: “Revolutions never go backward.” – Wendell Phillips

Wendel Phillips was an American abolitionist and advocate for Native Americans. He was born in 1811 and died in 1884.

Wendell Phillips

He explains that if revolutions take time and are often very hard, once they come to an end, you never go back to the ways of the past.

The Bitcoin revolution that is underway will take time, but once it reaches its end, no one will be able to question what it has brought.

No matter what the outcome of the Bitcoin revolution is, we will not be able to reverse it.

Once you have bought into the Bitcoin idea, it is difficult to unsee the revolution that it opens your eyes to. If Bitcoin is massively adopted by the general public and becomes a unit of account, then it will not be possible to change.

Conclusion

Bitcoin is a revolution. Whether you’re for or against Bitcoin, it’s hard not to admit it. History has shown us that revolutions originate in a one person’s mind before spreading to others. This is exactly what is happening with Bitcoin and since Bitcoin does not have a leader, it cannot be stopped.

The Bitcoin revolution will take time, but this is to be expected since revolutions do not happen overnight. Furthermore, failed states won’t be able to stop it. For those who still think that replacing the current system is an impossible thing, time will tell that Bitcoin was an inevitable movement which managed to fully assert itself.

Finally, never forget that when a revolution like Bitcoin has started, nothing can stop it, and we can never go back.