Beyond the Notion that the 'OS of Capitalism is Patriarchy'

When most of us are first dipping our toes into the world of cryptocurrency, it can seem super overwhelming….especially if the world of traditional finance already seemed confusing and opaque, dominated by gatekeepers.

Cryptocurrency transverses the worlds of both finance and tech, in a way that no other invention in recorded history ever has.

I think both worlds seem so exclusionary because they’re very much designed to be, in a way that is alienating to all but the most materially privileged of us.

Media theorist Douglas Rushkoff introduced an idea I found interesting a couple years back. To paraphrase, he said that the problem with Big Tech was that its OS, or operating system, was capitalism.

After years spent practicing Vipassana meditation, and reflecting on my own experience with endemic misogyny and discrimination in the world of finance, and later in the world of tech, I felt that it made sense to extend Rushkoff’s idea further.

I became convinced that not only was it deeply problematic that the OS of tech was capitalism, but that the root cause of this dysfunction had to do with the notion that the OS of capitalism was patriarchy.

This seemed to bear out in my own experience. I had seen male startup founders with much less to show - one even using an idea I had given him, with he then refused to give me credit for when I asked - raise several million dollars as I struggled to pay rent, buy food, and keep Seeds alive.

But I find the term ‘patriarchy’ to be insufficient here as well, because it speaks only to biological sex.

I think the problem is of an even larger scope, it that it comes down to an energy imbalance within all of us.

While it’s of extreme importance that the systemic denigration that women have experienced throughout recorded history never be inappropriately sidelined - it’s essential to societal evolution that it is wholly honored and healed - I’ve become convinced of an even deeper layer of truth skewing this system in these obviously harmful ways.

But to my knowledge, a word to define this doesn’t yet exist.

I’ve taken to using the term ‘misofem’ to describe the denigration of feminine energy in humans of all genders, mostly using it in a handful of TikTok videos I’ve made.

I find this designation to be extremely useful, as just in the past couple weeks alone, I’ve experienced misofem directed at me by a lesbian who is also a self-proclaimed feminist of many years, from a non-binary person…and what’s more, misofem is something I often notice that I direct at myself.

The term ‘misofem’ can also be used to describe what the economic system - and the education system, for that matter - trains us to do. We must strive, continually improve, follow a certain linear path. We must ignore vulnerability or tiredness or sadness to get the job done. And if we don’t, we may not receive the money this system has forced us to rely on in order to survive.

A term like ‘misogyny,’ while helpful as a means of naming a terrible historical phenomenon, does not accurately describe, for example, the societal misofem that teaches a white cishet male to so denigrate the feminine energy within him - something all humans have - that all that’s left to him in terms of emotional expression is “masculine” rage, and its manifestations of violence.

I believe misofem as an energetic strain exists in all of humanity, and that we must eradicate it…and an early step in doing that is to name it.

Discussing misofem.

But what should we call an entire system that operates on a denigration of feminine energy, coupled with a damaging, misplaced celebration of unhealthy masculine energies? What would be the name of this system’s economic variant?

I’m not sure yet. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

As I continue reflecting on these theoretical concepts, we’ll simultaneously continue the practical work we’re doing through Seeds, to grow a new kind of economic ecosystem that does not rest on a patriarchal foundation as the old one did, and continues to do.

An ecosystem that is not steeped in misofem, but that celebrates a balance of yin and yang - a solid structure that allows more opportunity to be in abundance, and creativity, and nourishment and fun - these things attributed to the spiritual definition of the Divine Feminine - from within a healthier masculine container. The way we’ve utilized blockchain technology has enabled Seeds to bring this better balance.

As ever, if you’d like to engage with our new kind of economic system, you’re invited to give to someone in need who has redeemed a SEED. We’ll send you SEEDS cryptocurrency in thanks, at market price at the moment of your gift.

From there, you’ll have multiple options. You can choose to redeem a SEED to ask for help yourself, or on behalf of another person or organization you’d like to support.

You can stake your SEEDS, to help us build a marketplace for them, independent of the need for typical liquidity providers, who are almost exclusive white cishet men…and you’ll get paid for doing so, while retaining full control of your money at all times (so long as you never misplace your mnemonic or private key).

And you can simply trade your SEEDS on the decentralized market, selling them for ETH or LINK or DAI - any Ethereum-based cryptocurrency - which you can then trade on a centralized exchange for the fiat currency of your choice, if and when you’d ever like to do so.

Because the healthy feminine is about abundance, and multi-optionality. And so the systems that bridge our path to the future, that support us through what spiritual people refer to as Ascension, a shift into a healthier feminine energy, must align.

As such, Seeds has found a way to leverage current tech to help us shift into this brighter, more nourishing, more abundant, more feminine future. 💗

-Rachel