Andreesen

Marc Andreesen recorded an interview with the Hoover Institution a couple of weeks ago. A couple of items stuck out:

A) “By the end of the decade, everyone on the planet will have a smartphone.” The end of the decade happens to be the year 2020, which is when the peak of the Crisis is predicted to start. Not that there’s any reason to think that the Crisis will be about ubiquitous Internet access, but however it might come to pass, the ability of ANY person to easily answer ANY known question is likely to affect how it all plays out.

B) Marc discusses Bitcoin, and its status as a currently available cryptocurrency, a concept that has been around - and continuously improving under strong incentives - for about 20 years. (An interview with the Washington Post covers similar points.) 

The Great Simolean Caper was a 1995 Neal Stephenson story about a future where different cryptocurrencies are competing for acceptance. When the government attempts to subvert them, a group of “crypto-anarchists” help the protagonist fight back. All of which fits with a Third Turning perspective of strong individuals and weak institutions: crypto-currencies are a way to enforce freedoms and ensure that they will  be continued.  

As the Fourth continues, though, individual freedoms become less important in the face of more significant dangers.  As government and other institutions grow in strength, technologies like Bitcoin that are potentially useful  - and/or dangerous - could be taken over.  And likely will be.