@Graham: Nope, I’m perfectly comfortable with “contradictory”. Please, explain to me how you get widespread use of Bitcoin sans extensive government interference in the market. The closest example I can think of to Bitcoin is the Somali shilling which is, to my knowledge, still in use long after the collapse of the Barre regime. Nevertheless, Somali shillings are virtually worthless and only used in very small transactions… the only reason Somalis still use them is because they are very poor. So, if a) Bitcoins are imposed on the developed world by government and then b) the developed world implodes on itself and regresses to the dark ages, then you could have an unbacked, extremely low-value currency continuing in use despite the absence of government enforcement. But wait, in order to have Bitcoins, you need a power grid and computers. So, sorry, there’s no way you can have Bitcoins without government creating the demand either by direct imposition or through other means.
Clayton -