Is this financial advice? (substack.com) | |
Regarding this, connecting to utopian vs dystopian versions of the future for internet and digital tech space, I have to think of the distinct difference between cyberpunk and cypherpunk, although the words almost look te same as word-image. Cyberpunk imagines fictional futures where financial systems are controlled by powerful entities and often depicts a world where money has become increasingly abstract and virtual - moving beyond physical currency into pure digital information and transactions. Cyberpunk romanticizes the digital realm as a new frontier for financial exploitation and speculation, even while often critiquing its effects. It is deeply cynical, an empty ideology that accompanies profit-making practices in late capitalism. Cypherpunk on the other hand actively works to create real-world tools and systems for financial privacy and freedom from institutional control. Cypherpunk can be seen as the practical implementation of some cyberpunk ideals, particularly in the realm of financial independence and privacy - but without cynicism and aestheticizing the abstraction of capital. The question is, now it’s time to build, what future do you want to build? | |