The Bushido of Bitcoin: A Code of Virtue by Aleksander Svetski

The Bushido of Bitcoin: A Code of Virtue for a World on a New Economic Standard
by Aleksander Svetski

What does it take to build civilization?

I spent two years wrestling with this question and many more. Is it enough if Bitcoin wins? How will those who hold it behave when they become the new elite? What are the character and virtues required so that we don’t merely replace an old corrupt ruling class with a new one?

Writing this book changed me. After a short hiatus from my entprepreneurial life, I was compelled to write again - but I found myself in a relatively dark place, a bit like I was born in the wrong century, as my wife kept telling me. It was peak clown world and the early drafts of the book reflected this feeling in their more nostalgic desire for a morally superior past that would not return.

But....two years, eight drafts and more than 130,000 words later, both the book and I took on a new energy. A more ascendant tone that in turn made me more hopeful for the future.

The Bushido of Bitcoin is thus a major white-pill, in a world full of black, red and blue pills.

This book is a distillation of what I’ve learned throughout my entire life, and in particular the ideas I’ve absorbed from the great stories of the past. It combines lessons from the great warrior cultures and their heroes with insights from the most insightful thinkers, religions and philosophies of all time, including Nietzsche, Spengler, Hoppe, Christianity, Feudalism and the Austrian School of Economics.

It is a playbook for the new elite with a focus on virtue - not morality. My goal is not to tell you what to believe, but to give you a guide for how the great and noble behave. All warrior cultures of the past lived by such codes of virtue, and it is high time we found ours.

The Bushido of Bitcoin is made up of SIX parts:

It starts with a powerful prelude that sets the tone of the book. It’s followed by a history of the samurai, an explanation of the origins of Bushido and its similarities to other historical codes and religions (Part 1: Origins).

Part 2, the real meat of the book, dives deep into each virtue of this new Bushido:

Justice • Courage • Love and Compassion • Honor • Honesty and Integrity • Responsibility • Excellence • Respect • Duty and Loyalty • Self-control

For each one I provide an extensive etymology of the word, both the English with Latin roots and the Japanese Kanji’s with their Chinese roots - the overlaps which you will find incredibly fascinating. This is followed by an exploration of historical examples and anecdotes from the greats who shaped history. Finally, each virtue-chapter is completed with a short section on its relevance to a world on a Bitcoin standard.

I then go to great lengths to explain how these virtues can be integrated into society (Part 3: Integration) and how we as individuals can practice them (Part 4: Praxis), because true knowledge is embodied in action.

Finally, I close the book out with a vivid vision of the future in the form of a short story (The Sovereign Cross) to paint a picture that theory alone cannot.

I hope these pages inspire you, like writing them did me: to orient yourself properly, to aspire to greatness and to cultivate a way of being that can bring about a better, brighter and more beautiful future.

This is the first book in The Bushido of Bitcoin series, which will be followed with Part 2: The Metaphysics of War and Beauty.
Stay tuned! Aleksandar Svetski