Bitcoiners and Wobblies: Labor Day Edition

I have recently been reading about the foundations of the American Labor Movement. Specifically, the birth of the Industrial Workers of the World and a group called the Wobblies, a nickname given to members of the IWW. At its height, the IWW had over 150,000 members in 1917, with global membership and significant power and influence. While the IWW was an organization of socialist leanings in theory, many of its core values ​​were woven into the DNA of the American labor movement, and it was undeniably essential to the development of organized labor and a strong working class after the Industrial Revolution. The parallels between some of the origins and ideologies of the IWW and Bitcoin are significant and will be demonstrated in quotes rather than boring you to death with the deep history.

All quotes are attributed to Wobblies: A Graphic History of The Industrial Workers of the World (Buhle/Schulman.

Origins and Genesis

“No one can say exactly where the inspiration for the IWW came from. The origins are too numerous both in the US and abroad…”

Similarly, the nickname Wobblies has no clear origin. Of course, some of the mythology surrounding Bitcoin comes to mind, and while Bitcoin’s origins are clearly documented through white papers and email communications, its creator or creators are or are shrouded in mystery. As Bitcoin gained popularity, its growth was decentralized and organic. In another parallel, while the IWW and the American Labor Movement had earlier inspirations, it pioneered the sense of organizing labor across ethnic, gender, religious, and demographic differences.

“After the Civil War, massive industry grew faster than anyone could have imagined, with previously unimaginable wealth amassed by bankers, but with millions of working people desperately poor, in low-wage jobs, or unemployed in frequent economic downturns .”

From the financial crisis, to the post-covid accumulation of wealth among billionaires, to a current AI, robotics and self-automation boom underway, this story is all too familiar. However, recessions have been all but banned, replaced by government intervention, currently placing systems as large as pensions and Social Security on par with welfare and government dependency.

Wobblies and Bitcoiners

“The Wobbly, male or female, Asian or Western, black, brown, red or white, was just an ordinary human being physically.”

We feel the same way about Bitcoiners. We’ve all met some of the most inspiring people in our lives in this space. Both character, grit and determination enable people to discover and understand Bitcoin, and the character-building journey a Bitcoiner must go through to fully understand Bitcoin and share it with a world that complements what many of us we consider it to be the most. talented and motivated communities in the world.

“Their story was collaborative, collective, not based on any one hero or heroine – as heroic (or tragic) as the Wobblies’ individual lives would be.”

Kill your heroes. Death to Ego. Bitcoin doesn’t need any of us.

Solidarity: a movement bigger than the individual

“The world of the Wobblies was one made at its best by solidarity across race, ethnicity, gender and nationality”

The beauty of Bitcoin is that it requires no trust between those who transact with each other. And in doing so, Bitcoin allows people to deconstruct the daily head-to-toe analysis we perform on each other on a daily basis; an analysis that instinctively highlights our differences, rooted in paranoia and fear. While the blind solidarity between Bitcoiners is the antithesis of “don’t trust, verify”, there is a strong natural bond between Bitcoiners. I believe that the future of Bitcoin, when it faces the greatest tests to come, will depend very much on a deep solidarity among those who subscribe to the Bitcoin Genesis, the core values ​​and the blind commitment to be honest, true and trustless.

AFL vs. Knights of Labor

“The earliest mass movement for an eight-hour day in 1885-86 highlighted the different roles of two types of labor movements. The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1883, sought to organize skilled workers (almost entirely white and male) only … while the Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 as a secret society … expanded its membership to almost all workers (except Chinese), including African Americans and women.”

The AFL and its exclusive brand of country club membership survived the eventual demise of the Knights of Labor and still exists today as the AFL-CIO. Reading about the different philosophies of the AFL and the Knights of Labor, she draws parallels within the Bitcoin community, frequently heard criticisms of Bitcoin Maxi, as well as Bitcoin v. Crypto. I leave you the reader to draw your own thoughts here, as the parallels are at best loose affiliations in nature.

movement

“In the industrially advanced United States, the working class was poised to take control of society and replace ‘politics’ and ‘the state’ with direct government. As Marx had pointed out about the Paris Commune (and Lenin would repeat for the Soviets), the existing governmental apparatus could not be infiltrated and taken over piecemeal; it had to be dissolved and replaced by a truly democratic, modern form of government”

There are two schools of thought in Bitcoin, one that calls for the complete collapse of the current financial system and migration to a Bitcoin standard, and another that insists that Bitcoin can coexist with and even surpass the current financial system without the latter being able to be used. collapse. While money is not identical to government in this parallel, the amount that money is entrenched in the legacy financial system is prodigious, and this always sparks interesting debates among Bitcoiners.

“For the IWW… the familiar problem of the socialist movement being notoriously small in the US could be solved in a new way. The “education” of the workers to become socialists, through newspapers, speeches and election campaigns, was too passive and not very successful. Workers had to educate themselves, in and through their own actions and self-organization.”

Some opposite parallels here. Immediately, I think of a core value of Bitcoiners, which is that no one can walk this path for you. Proof of work cannot be circumvented or circumvented. No individual or group can cheat the search for knowledge, both about Bitcoin and the system it is poised to replace. Bitcoin journeys of individuals and organizations based on subscription, lack of continuous learning and education, often end in loss or disappointment. Those who do the work find that their knowledge of money blossoms and few, if any, ever come back after gaining a deep understanding of Bitcoin.

At the same time, my mind wanders to the oligarchy’s attempts at no less than 10 years of negative media attack on all things Bitcoin. It slowed the train, but it didn’t work. The other day, I asked random people on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica to share their thoughts on Bitcoin. Overwhelmingly positive and having some basis in accuracy. The move to discourage people from finding Bitcoin was, at best, delaying the inevitable. Because nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.

ConCluSIonS

On this Labor Day, I look at the deeply polarized two-party political system of today’s dominant world power. And as I see unions aligned with one party, at the expense of creating division within their ranks, I see a labor movement that has drifted away from its original foundation. While the IWW rose and fell, at its height it represented a steadfast movement, a solidarity and commitment to the worker above all else. And there is power in that. I see parallels today in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s core principles transcend our differences and are worth fighting for. At Proof of Workforce, our method of fighting for these values ​​is through education-based Bitcoin adoption for workers, unions, pension funds and municipalities. And in doing so, we share not only the active bitcoin, or Bitcoin the Network, but we communicate the Genesis of Bitcoin and its values ​​so that they are not lost to the progress of time.

Ultimately, Bitcoin is a natural evolution of the labor movement, sharing many similarities and parallels. However, unlike the labor movement, the labor can rely on Bitcoin in the absence of any political party, leader or oligarchy. And in this regard, Bitcoin and its value system are to be adopted by unions around the world. And in doing so, unions around the world can become realigned to their Genesis story. A story where solidarity is above all, a story where workers unite to preserve the productive property that depends on their work. A story where, as many workers will be phased out due to automation and AI, the unions that represent them eagerly await and claim ownership of the most affordable and promising productive property available today; Bitcoin.

This is a guest post by Dom Bei. The opinions expressed are entirely our own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.