An emerging paradigm for reclaiming a failing country

A few days ago, I hosted a clubhouse discussion grounded on the following propositions.

1. A clear-eyed assessment of the state of Nigeria as of May 2021 leads to one inexorable conclusion: the country, as currently structured, is beyond repair. Without enumerating them here (no need), the issues are rooted in the pervasive, institutionalized and ossified corruption, including said corruption’s complete capture of the electoral process — making political change effectively impossible.
2. The path forward for the progressive-minded lies in ignoring the current structure and building a parallel one that is grounded on individual freedom and sovereignty as well as free market interactions and exchange. Ignoring the current structure entails tolerating — even bearing — it, strengthened by the conviction that it is in its final days.
3. Individual freedom and sovereignty requires the ability to opt out of aspects of the current system that one finds repressive, coercive, or otherwise objectionable. Telecommunications technology, increasing preference for deliverables over 9-to-5 time-boundedness, and enhanced receptivity to remote work in the post-COVID world, frees people to opt out of the constraints of artificially bounded labor markets. The Internet writ large frees people to opt out of artificially bounded markets for goods and services. Bitcoin frees people to opt out of unsound fiat money, inflationary monetary policy, and the vagaries of central banks, foreign exchange rates and the international monetary regime.
4. Free market interactions and exchange calls for a focus on value creation and exchange that is deliberately outward-oriented, expansive and global — that is, devoid of recourse to the artificial constraints of national boundaries. The music industry — and to a lesser extent Nollywood — are instructive in this regard. These two sectors leveraged outward-oriented music and movie distribution platforms such as iTunes, Spotify and Netflix to directly interact with global markets and capture value for their products. Today, Burna Boy and Wizkid are global brands worth millions of US dollars.
5. Individuals motivated by desire for corporeal freedom and sovereignty can build a vibrant, parallel economy and society that thrives while the incumbent system trends to zero. Such a thriving parallel new society will adopt Bitcoin as its money, ignoring the fiat currency that has been — and continues to be — debased through inflationary monetary policies, including excessive and inappropriate debt monetization (money printing), bond issues, and external borrowing. Whereas unsound fiat money provides the government with numerous avenues for expropriating value from fiat holders, Bitcoin is hard money that transcends monetary shenanigans.
6. The emergent leaders of the parallel society cannot be completely oblivious to the decline of the incumbent system, as they must be ready to take over the leadership vacuum that will invariably result from the incumbent leaders fleeing, once they’ve crashed the incumbent system and there is nothing left to loot. Indeed, the emergent leaders must have the foresight to design, far in advance of the pivotal event that marks the demise of the failed old guard, governance systems that maximize individual freedoms and sovereignty while tasking the barest possible commons (new government) with providing public goods, sensibly regulating the market (such as to minimize negative externalities), and resolving other market failures.