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At face value, the statement “Bitcoin can reduce racism” seems silly, if not downright offensive to those who have been the victims of racism. And it presupposes that an open-source protocol, which is completely indifferent to the whims of human emotions, can have any impact whatsoever on reducing racism, one of the most vile expressions of human emotions.
I get that (as much as I can as a white dude), but follow me for a moment. While Bitcoin itself may not be able to reduce racism, what about the concept of being a “Bitcoiner”? Can identifying as a Bitcoiner reduce racism?
The work of Harvard political science professor Robert Putnam suggests that this could actually be the case.
When Putnam set out to write his now best selling book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, he aimed to prove the point that diversity is inherently a good thing.
His research proved otherwise, though.
The data showed that diversity hurts civic life, as it can lead to distrust between groups of different ethnicities and races. Putnam explained that humans are programmed with ingroup and outgroup bias, which makes us favor those with whom we identify and remain wary of those with whom we don’t.
His research showed that it’s not until we find we have something in common with someone beyond our race, ethnicity or even gender that we begin to associate them with our ingroup and that once we find that something we have in common, diversity becomes a strength. That something could be anything from being a part of the same religion to playing on the same softball team to liking the same music.
So, what are the implications of this for people who identify as Bitcoiners? Can being a Bitcoiner help people overlook racial differences?
While the answer to this question differs on a case-by-case basis, it’s hard to imagine it wouldn’t have some impact. After all, Bitcoiners have aligned incentives, right?
We’re all working towards hyperbitcoinization, or, at the very least, we share some of the same values: faith in hard money, belief in the right to transact permissionlessly, belief in the right to be financially self-sovereign.
Knowing that we have these things in common creates a bond between us, and it helps us to trust one another more. When we trust one another more, we’re more apt to work together. And it is in collaborating with one another that diversity becomes a strength.
This isn’t to say that some who identify as Bitcoiners don’t still have racist inclinations. But there is something to be said about the idea that the things that unite us are stronger than those that divide us, and when you look at the idea of being a Bitcoiner through that lens, it’s hard to deny that the association won’t have some impact on reducing racism.
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