User:Geremia: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:22, 12 February 2022

About Me

I am a freelance translator and Linux developer.

My Economic Views

My economic views are anti-Fractional Reserve Banking^[1] and anti-usury^[2] at all levels of an economy. I realize that, although there is more to sound currency than the logistics of the currency itself, Bitcoin will help citizens of the world free themselves from the slavery of fractional reserve banking and usury and rekindle in them the sense of justice, which St. Thomas Aquinas defines as the "rendering to each one his right."^[3]

My favorite economics book: Return to Order by John Horvat II
(cf. his article "The Problem with Local Currencies," whose comments mention Bitcoin, or his controversial "Three Reasons Why Bitcoin Is Not Money")

My favorite economist and medieval mathematical physicist: Bishop Nicole Oresme (1320-1382). He wrote, in the first monetary treatise, that inflation caused by tampering with money's value, as in fractional reserve banking, is worse than usury:
The usurer has lent his money to one who takes it of his own free will, and can then enjoy the use of it and relieve his own necessity with it, and what he repays in excess of the principal is determined by free contract between the parties. But a prince, by unnecessary change in the coinage, plainly takes the money of his subjects against their will, because he forbids the older money to pass current, though it is better, and anyone would prefer it to the bad; and then unnecessarily and without any possible advantage to his subjects, he will give them back worse money. . . . In so far then as he receives more money than he gives, against and beyond the natural use of money, such gain is equivalent to usury; but is worse than usury because it is less voluntary and more against the will of his subjects, incapable of profiting them, and utterly unnecessary. And since the usurer’s interest is not so excessive, or so generally injurious to the many, as this impost, levied tyrannically and fraudulently, against the interest and against the will of the whole community, I doubt whether it should not rather be termed robbery with violence or fraudulent extortion.
Bitcoin is immune to this problem because of its controlled money supply.

I am opposed to usury, which is still a sin. The past decades have seen an exponential increase in the number of "quick money" shops throughout the United States. This is contrary to justice and detrimental to the economy; this is the only part of an economy that must be regulated.
Pope Benedict XIV's encyclical Vix Pervenit gives the reasons why:
The nature of the sin called usury has its proper place and origin in a loan contract… [which] demands, by its very nature, that one return to another only as much as he has received. The sin rests on the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than he has given…, but any gain which exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious.
One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing that the gain is not great or excessive, but rather moderate or small; neither can it be condoned by arguing that the borrower is rich; nor even by arguing that the money borrowed is not left idle, but is spent usefully…^[4]
^{(See also: Church and the Usurers: Unprofitable Lending for the Modern Economy by Dr. Brian McCall or Interest and Usury by Fr. Bernard W. Dempsey, S.J. (1903-1960).)}
Bitcoin is, by design, unable to perform chargebacks or force collection of interest on loans, thus making usury within the blockchain impossible.

I'm also available on BitcoinTalk.org and Bitcoin StackExchange.

About Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the future. The technology behind it (esp. the blockchain concept) is very ingenious, and it's revolutionizing finance and even democracies (some countries are even considering using blockchain-based voting, where everyone can verify his vote is counted and there can be no fraud without breaking the chain; the powers of cryptography! cf. "Alternative chain").

Coinbase is the easiest way to convert between USD and BTC. Of the many Bitcoin wallets to choose from, I prefer the Bitcoin-Qt / Core wallet for desktop computers and GreenAddress wallet for mobile devices.

P2Pool is my preferred mining pool, followed by Eligius pool. BFGMiner is my favorite mining software.

Learning More

Watch both videos here. The first is a general intro to Bitcoin, and the second discusses that the financial aspect of Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg; the blockchain concept is far more innovative.
CoinDesk's Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin is a good collection of resources.
The best, free book on Bitcoin: Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas M. Antonopoulos ^{(who says "Bitcoin is not currency; it's the internet of money!")}
Introduction to Bitcoin by cryptographer Zulfikar Ramzan: Bitcoin Video Series (Khan Academy)

References

↑ I am not an Austrian economist, although "Austrian Economics" is based, in part, on the Catholic economics developed by the Spanish Scholastics of the Salamanca School. See Prof. Jesús Huerta de Soto's lecture "The Spanish Scholastics," his article, and book Money, Bank Credit, & Economic Cycles.
↑ Capitalism = Usury-ism.
To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this [usury] is to sell what does not exist.
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q. 78 a. 1 ("Whether it is a sin to take usury for money lent?") c.

"The-borrower-paying-back-over-and-above-what-the-lender-lent" is not not something ontologically real that can be bought or sold; thus, usury means charging interest on non-recourse loans.
↑ Summa Theologica II-II q. 57 a. 1 c.; cf. his short-work on buying and selling time
↑ http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm

BTC tip jar: 1FyW7qCuuh1zAudAwa9sEEvjdaS4XE11n8
Tox ID: 65C3E8810738AD9D175234808FCB317A1103632903436203D45411AE97C03F54C34861AB6663
Join Kraken

God bless Bitcoin. ☺

[1] I am not an Austrian economist, although "Austrian Economics" is based, in part, on the Catholic economics developed by the Spanish Scholastics of the Salamanca School. See Prof. Jesús Huerta de Soto's lecture "The Spanish Scholastics," his article, and book Money, Bank Credit, & Economic Cycles.

[2] Capitalism = Usury-ism.
To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this [usury] is to sell what does not exist.
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q. 78 a. 1 ("Whether it is a sin to take usury for money lent?") c.

"The-borrower-paying-back-over-and-above-what-the-lender-lent" is not not something ontologically real that can be bought or sold; thus, usury means charging interest on non-recourse loans.

[3] Summa Theologica II-II q. 57 a. 1 c.; cf. his short-work on buying and selling time

[4] ttp://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==About Me==
-I am a freelance translator<ref>Italian, Spanish, French, and Latin into English</ref> and Linux<ref>I can write Qt software.</ref> developer.<ref>Please see [https://careers.stackoverflow.com/cv/employer/347174 my Careers StackOverflow CV] and the URLs linked therein.</ref>
+I am a freelance translator and Linux developer.
 ==My Economic Views==
-My economic views are [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|anti-Fractional Reserve Banking]]<ref>I am not an Austrian economist, although "Austrian Economics" is based, in part, on the Catholic economics developed by the Spanish Scholastics of the [https://mises.org/library/school-salamanca Salamanca School]. See Prof. Jesús Huerta de Soto's lecture "[https://mises.org/library/spanish-scholastics The Spanish Scholastics]," [http://www.jesushuertadesoto.com/articles/articles-in-english/juan-de-mariana-and-the-spanish-scholastics/ his article], and book [https://mises.org/library/money-bank-credit-and-economic-cycles ''Money, Bank Credit, & Economic Cycles''].</ref> and anti-[https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury]<ref>[http://sententiaedeo.blogspot.com/2016/04/capitalism-is-usury-ism.html Capitalism = Usury-ism].<blockquote>To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this '''[usury] is to sell what does not exist'''.</blockquote>—St. Thomas Aquinas, [http://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78A1THEP1 ''Summa Theologica'' II-II q. 78 a. 1 ("Whether it is a sin to take usury for money lent?")] c.<br><br>"The-borrower-paying-back-over-and-above-what-the-lender-lent" is not not something ontologically real that can be bought or sold; thus, usury means charging interest on non-recourse loans.</ref> at all levels of an economy. I realize that, although there is more to sound currency than the logistics of the currency itself, Bitcoin will help citizens of the world free themselves from the slavery of [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|fractional reserve banking]] and [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury] and rekindle in them the sense of justice, which [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Saint_Thomas_Aquinas.aspx#1 St. Thomas Aquinas] defines as the "rendering to each one his right."<ref>[http://dhspriory.org/thomas/summa/SS/SS058.html#SSQ58A1THEP1 <i>Summa Theologica</i> II-II q. 57 a. 1] c.; cf. [http://dhspriory.org/thomas/Emptio.htm his short-work on buying and selling time][</ref>
+My economic views are [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|anti-Fractional Reserve Banking]]<ref>I am not an Austrian economist, although "Austrian Economics" is based, in part, on the Catholic economics developed by the Spanish Scholastics of the [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/3320 Salamanca School]. See Prof. Jesús Huerta de Soto's lecture "[https://youtu.be/u_j04HaR9Ak?t=17m54s The Spanish Scholastics]," [http://www.jesushuertadesoto.com/articles/articles-in-english/juan-de-mariana-and-the-spanish-scholastics/ his article], and book [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/5291 ''Money, Bank Credit, & Economic Cycles''].</ref> and anti-[https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury]<ref>[http://sententiaedeo.blogspot.com/2016/04/capitalism-is-usury-ism.html Capitalism = Usury-ism].<blockquote>To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this '''[usury] is to sell what does not exist'''.</blockquote>—St. Thomas Aquinas, [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78A1THEP1 ''Summa Theologica'' II-II q. 78 a. 1 ("Whether it is a sin to take usury for money lent?")] c.<br><br>"The-borrower-paying-back-over-and-above-what-the-lender-lent" is not not something ontologically real that can be bought or sold; thus, usury means charging interest on non-recourse loans.</ref> at all levels of an economy. I realize that, although there is more to sound currency than the logistics of the currency itself, Bitcoin will help citizens of the world free themselves from the slavery of [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|fractional reserve banking]] and [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury] and rekindle in them the sense of justice, which [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Saint_Thomas_Aquinas.aspx#1 St. Thomas Aquinas] defines as the "rendering to each one his right."<ref>[https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS057.html#SSQ57A1THEP1 <i>Summa Theologica</i> II-II q. 57 a. 1] c.; cf. [https://isidore.co/aquinas/Emptio.htm his short-work on buying and selling time]</ref>
-* My favorite economics book: [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/5155 <i><b>Return to Order</b></i>] by John Horvat II<br>(cf. his article "[http://www.returntoorder.org/2014/02/problem-local-currencies/ The Problem with Local Currencies]," whose comments mention Bitcoin)
+* My favorite economics book: [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/5155 <i><b>Return to Order</b></i>] by John Horvat II<br>(cf. his article "[https://www.returntoorder.org/2014/02/problem-local-currencies/ The Problem with Local Currencies]," whose comments mention Bitcoin, or his controversial "[https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/01/three-reasons-bitcoin-not-money/ Three Reasons Why Bitcoin Is Not Money]")
-* My favorite economist and medieval mathematical physicist: [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nicole_Oresme.aspx Bishop <b>Nicole Oresme</b>] (1320-1382). He wrote, in [https://mises.org/library/nicholas-oresme-and-first-monetary-treatise the first monetary treatise], that inflation caused by tampering with money's value, as in [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|fractional reserve banking]], is worse than [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury]:<blockquote>The usurer has lent his money to one who takes it of his own free will, and can then enjoy the use of it and relieve his own necessity with it, and what he repays in excess of the principal is determined by free contract between the parties. But a prince, by unnecessary change in the coinage, plainly takes the money of his subjects against their will, because he forbids the older money to pass current, though it is better, and anyone would prefer it to the bad; and then unnecessarily and without any possible advantage to his subjects, he will give them back worse money. . . . In so far then as he receives more money than he gives, against and beyond the natural use of money, such gain is equivalent to [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury]; but is worse than [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury] because it is less voluntary and more against the will of his subjects, incapable of profiting them, and utterly unnecessary. And since the usurer’s interest is not so excessive, or so generally injurious to the many, as this impost, levied tyrannically and fraudulently, against the interest and against the will of the whole community, I doubt whether it should not rather be termed robbery with violence or fraudulent extortion.</blockquote>Bitcoin is immune to this problem because of its [[Controlled supply|controlled money supply]].
+* My favorite economist and medieval mathematical physicist: [http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nicole_Oresme.aspx Bishop <b>Nicole Oresme</b>] (1320-1382). He wrote, in [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/3313 the first monetary treatise], that inflation caused by tampering with money's value, as in [[Fractional Reserve Banking and Bitcoin|fractional reserve banking]], is worse than [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury]:<blockquote>The usurer has lent his money to one who takes it of his own free will, and can then enjoy the use of it and relieve his own necessity with it, and what he repays in excess of the principal is determined by free contract between the parties. But a prince, by unnecessary change in the coinage, plainly takes the money of his subjects against their will, because he forbids the older money to pass current, though it is better, and anyone would prefer it to the bad; and then unnecessarily and without any possible advantage to his subjects, he will give them back worse money. . . . In so far then as he receives more money than he gives, against and beyond the natural use of money, such gain is equivalent to [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury]; but is worse than [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury] because it is less voluntary and more against the will of his subjects, incapable of profiting them, and utterly unnecessary. And since the usurer’s interest is not so excessive, or so generally injurious to the many, as this impost, levied tyrannically and fraudulently, against the interest and against the will of the whole community, I doubt whether it should not rather be termed robbery with violence or fraudulent extortion.</blockquote>Bitcoin is immune to this problem because of its [[Controlled supply|controlled money supply]].
-*I am opposed to [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury], [http://distributistreview.com/mag/2012/01/is-usury-still-a-sin/ which is still a sin]. The past decades have seen an exponential increase in the number of "quick money" shops throughout the United States. This is contrary to justice and detrimental to the economy; this is the only part of an economy that must be regulated.<br>Pope Benedict XIV's encyclical [http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm <i>Vix Pervenit</i>] gives the reasons why:<blockquote>The nature of the sin called usury has its proper place and origin in a loan contract… [which] demands, by its very nature, that one return to another only as much as he has received. The sin rests on the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than he has given…, but any gain which exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious.</blockquote><blockquote>One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing that the gain is not great or excessive, but rather moderate or small; neither can it be condoned by arguing that the borrower is rich; nor even by arguing that the money borrowed is not left idle, but is spent usefully…<ref>http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm</ref></blockquote><sup>(See also: [http://cuapress.cua.edu/books/viewbook.cfm?book=XMCU <i>Church and the Usurers: Unprofitable Lending for the Modern Economy</i>] by [http://en.gloria.tv/?media=444192 Dr. Brian McCall] or [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/5277 <i>Interest and Usury</i>] by [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29769582 Fr. Bernard W. Dempsey, S.J.] (1903-1960).)</sup><br>Bitcoin is, by design, [[Myths#Bitcoin_has_no_built-in_chargeback_mechanism.2C_and_this_isn.27t_good|unable to perform chargebacks]] or [https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/37853/4334 force collection of interest on loans], thus making [https://zippycatholic.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/usury-faq-or-money-on-the-pill/ usury] within the [[blockchain]] impossible.
+*I am opposed to [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury], [http://distributistreview.com/mag/2012/01/is-usury-still-a-sin/ which is still a sin]. The past decades have seen an exponential increase in the number of "quick money" shops throughout the United States. This is contrary to justice and detrimental to the economy; this is the only part of an economy that must be regulated.<br>Pope Benedict XIV's encyclical [http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm <i>Vix Pervenit</i>] gives the reasons why:<blockquote>The nature of the sin called usury has its proper place and origin in a loan contract… [which] demands, by its very nature, that one return to another only as much as he has received. The sin rests on the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than he has given…, but any gain which exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious.</blockquote><blockquote>One cannot condone the sin of usury by arguing that the gain is not great or excessive, but rather moderate or small; neither can it be condoned by arguing that the borrower is rich; nor even by arguing that the money borrowed is not left idle, but is spent usefully…<ref>http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14vixpe.htm</ref></blockquote><sup>(See also: [http://cuapress.cua.edu/books/viewbook.cfm?book=XMCU <i>Church and the Usurers: Unprofitable Lending for the Modern Economy</i>] by [http://en.gloria.tv/?media=444192 Dr. Brian McCall] or [https://isidore.co/calibre/browse/book/5277 <i>Interest and Usury</i>] by [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29769582 Fr. Bernard W. Dempsey, S.J.] (1903-1960).)</sup><br>Bitcoin is, by design, [[Myths#Bitcoin_has_no_built-in_chargeback_mechanism.2C_and_this_isn.27t_good|unable to perform chargebacks]] or [https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/a/37853/4334 force collection of interest on loans], thus making [https://isidore.co/aquinas/summa/SS/SS078.html#SSQ78OUTP1 usury] within the [[blockchain]] impossible.
 I'm also [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=101169 available on BitcoinTalk.org] and [https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/users/4334/geremia Bitcoin StackExchange].
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Bitcoin is the future. The technology behind it (esp. the [[blockchain]] concept) is very ingenious, and it's revolutionizing finance and even democracies (some countries are even considering using blockchain-based voting, where everyone can verify his vote is counted and there can be no fraud without breaking the chain; the powers of cryptography! cf. "[[Alternative chain]]").
-[https://www.coinbase.com/join/567389685cf24154420006b2 Coinbase] is the easiest way to convert between USD and BTC. Of the [[Wallet|many Bitcoin wallets to choose from]], I prefer the [[Bitcoin Core|<b>Bitcoin-Qt / Core</b> wallet]] for desktop computers and [[GreenAddress|<b>GreenAddress</b> wallet]] for mobile devices.
+[https://www.coinbase.com/join Coinbase] is the easiest way to convert between USD and BTC. Of the [[Wallet|many Bitcoin wallets to choose from]], I prefer the [[Bitcoin Core|<b>Bitcoin-Qt / Core</b> wallet]] for desktop computers and [[GreenAddress|<b>GreenAddress</b> wallet]] for mobile devices.
 [[P2Pool]] is my preferred [[mining]] [[pooled mining|pool]], followed by [[Eligius|Eligius pool]]. [[BFGMiner]] is my favorite mining software.
 ==Learning More==
-*Watch both videos [https://www.weusecoins.com/ here]. The first is a general intro to Bitcoin, and the second discusses that the financial aspect of Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg; the [[blockchain]] concept is far more innovative.
+*Watch both videos [https://bitcoin.org/ here]. The first is a general intro to Bitcoin, and the second discusses that the financial aspect of Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg; the [[blockchain]] concept is far more innovative.
 *[https://www.coindesk.com/information/ CoinDesk's Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin] is a good collection of resources.
 *<i>The</i> best, free book on Bitcoin: <b><i>[[Mastering Bitcoin]]</i></b> by [[Wikipedia:Andreas Antonopoulos|Andreas M. Antonopoulos]] <sup>([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW_wYvZ1eZg who says] "Bitcoin is not currency; it's the internet of money!")</sup>
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 <br><hr>
 <b>BTC tip jar</b>: 1FyW7qCuuh1zAudAwa9sEEvjdaS4XE11n8<br>
-[https://tox.chat/ Tox] ID: 65C3E8810738AD9D175234808FCB317A1103632903436203D45411AE97C03F547D390A76B3CF<br>
+[https://tox.chat/ Tox] ID: 65C3E8810738AD9D175234808FCB317A1103632903436203D45411AE97C03F54C34861AB6663<br>
-<b>Join [https://www.coinbase.com/join/567389685cf24154420006b2 Coinbase]</b>
+<b>Join [https://www.kraken.com/ Kraken]</b>
 God bless Bitcoin. ☺
 [[Category:Freelancers]][[Category:Freelancers-Translation]][[Category:Freelancers-Software Development]][[Category:Freelancers-Sysadmin]][[Category:Freelancers-Technical Support]]

User:Geremia: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:22, 12 February 2022

Contents

About Me

My Economic Views

About Bitcoin

Learning More

References

Navigation menu

User:Geremia: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:22, 12 February 2022

About Me

My Economic Views

About Bitcoin

Learning More

References

Navigation menu

Search