In his most famous essay, “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto,” May summarized in 1988 the lawless future he both foresaw and, as a kind of absolutist libertarian, largely welcomed. “A specter is haunting the modern world, the specter of crypto anarchy,” May wrote forebodingly, imagining a “CryptoNet” of perfectly private communications and payments. The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of [encryption] technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid;
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