The internet, and certainly Twitter, is plastered with people claiming to be a bitcoin maximalist.
Even Michael Saylor, regularly claims to be such a maximalist (or “maxi” as the non-bitcoiners often call themselves).
The term itself is usually associated with a no-compromise approach to bitcoin adoption.
They shit on shitcoiners, think everything is a scam/Ponzi/bad project (it usually is true by the way), they’re also cultivating a proud intolerance towards other projects, proclaiming fundamentalist bitcoin views in the process.
So far so good. We know bitcoin is the only game in town when it comes to global store of value, nconfiscatable, decentralized, scarce, secure, proof-of-work …
I’m a maximalist myself, although I actually feel much more comfortable with the term “brutalist”.
Let me explain why…
Brutalism
In short, the term Brutalism stems from an architectural style that was very prevalent in the 1955–1970s era.
The comparison with bitcoin is easy: it looks like a block, it has a strong fundamental stance, stands out and is often controversial.
Brutalist architecture is despised by some, and liked by others. The esthetical aspects aren’t always that pleasing, to say the least and they require a level of maintenance to keep their original functional aspects going.
The brutalist-style buildings however, stand the test of time very well. Certainly if they’re well maintained. Just like bitcoin miners, nodes and developers do with bitcoin, on top of maintaining the bitcoin network, it’s security and code.
Such brutalist building also has a direct impact on its surroundings. They’re notorious for being difficult and expensive to renovate, just like bitcoin’s code is difficult to change and takes a lot of time to securely and wisely enhance or improve.
The skyline of the city such building resides in, is impacted along with the inner-workings and space taken up by the brutalist building. It’s all connected, it’s all impacted by the architectural style. From the park nearby to the people that live inside such a spacious place.
Brutalist building were made to live in, to be functional to survive.
On top of that it looks beautiful to some, while being despised by others. I personally like the looks of such buildings as I imagine the use and the functions along with their rather blockish looks.
In French language known as “béton brut” … it’s here to stay.
The big, strong looking, fundamentally sound buildings take their spot in the landscape, attract attention and shove their superiority in anyone’s face.
They’re often imitated by knock-off architects, who wanted to introduce “new” elements into brutalism, and usually failed miserably. (shitcoin-buildings). Or incorporate the brutalist look into more fancy projects build with other materials.
The philosophy
The idea to call yourself a Bitcoin Maximalist, comes with a few rather unpleasant thoughts that don’t always line up with reality.
A Bitcoin maxi usually thinks everything is a scam, except bitcoin and there, the discussion usually ends.
Most of them are also happy, even proud of letting the discussion end there.
“The other side(s) are always wrong anyway, so why bother?” approach so to speak.
In essence, they’re right about bitcoin’s superior proposition.
Although maximalism is like acting like they can’t even see the other buildings in their city except for the Brutalist office building nearby.
Which is simple not true. There are more buildings.
And they’ll all fall down eventually.
Even projects that I can’t like or even remotely compare to bitcoin (like a corporate blockchain for tracking bottled water) is sometimes called a scam by maxis.
As soon as there’s a token, a company, a third party behind it, the maxis all call it trash, scam, ponzis ...
Of course, again -they’re right- these things tend to get out of hand, be dodgy or downright bad projects / theft from the uniformed. We know.
That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about them or at least look at them in order to compare them to the superior architecture of Bitcoin.
Even more so, you can track, look, investigate and at the same time promote Bitcoin’s advantages, fundamentals and strong track record.
Just as you can point to a modern apartment building built during the 1990s saying it’s aging very badly compared to a Brutalist building nearby.
You can even combine these views, with towering over the ruins of all these bad projects, marketing schemes, Ponzi schemes and illusions of grandeur and the smoking heap of overly technology-bases stuff with no connection to real life at all.
In fact, it makes the contradiction between bitcoin and the trash even more blatant and painful by pointing it out.
Bitcoin Brutalism therefore is more painful than dismissive maximalism.
Just like brutalist buildings often tower over their more modern, fancy and fad-of-the-year counterparts, bitcoin towers over the old fad-coins, promise coins and failed doomed projects.
Bitcoin towers over the ruins of Worldcoin, NXTcoin, onecoin, bitcoin-cash, UST,… and so on.
If you hide in a cabin in the woods or a remote compound in Mexico, you probably won’t orange-pill many new bitcoiners. Neither can you claim to be a maximalist in anything, if you’re just yelling obscenities at the other side. You’re not building anything.
You’re not pouring concrete for one of the buildings.
Let’s broaden the maxi-perspective a bit, but not by shilling bad projects (we don’t turn shitcoiner — like some notorious former maxis), but by sticking the bitcoin superiority in all of the faces of all the others.
Bitcoiners:
Be like that òne tall brutalist building in the middle of the city that still stands since 1957, refuses to collapse, still looks amazing, has enough room inside to house powerful organizations or a bunch of households.
Be a building that yells to the world: “Here I am! In your face!”
Be the “béton brut” building of your area, the go-to place to take pictures in black-and-white or record an artistic movie, be the building everyone wants to be, but can’t.
Bitcoin allows you to do so!
Stick it in their faces: bitcoin has a strong foundation, a long-standing track record and was built in a time where steadiness and presence were appreciated and needed.
Just like in brutalist music (where brutalists are out, not to entertain or touch you, but HURT you, like many industrial projects).
Just like Brutalist clothing and fashion is out there, to provoke a reaction from the old fashion…
Just like Brutalist money : Bitcoin provokes the fiat world.
#BitcoinBrutalism is the next phase of maximalism
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