This post is taking part in the Lens x Kiwi Writing Contest
Let's explore the multi-cultural ecosystem of Layer 2 centered around Ethereum.
First, let's outline the evolutionary trajectory of Ethereum's culture and political ideology.
Evolution of Cypherpunk Culture
From Cypherpunk Fundamentalism to Technological Open-Source Neutralism
Cypherpunk, as the ideological source, represents the essential core of the crypto spirit. Typified by Bitcoin Maximalists, this group believes in extreme individualistic freedom, resists government authority, and pursues autonomy and independence.
From a political and public perspective, they don't possess grand ambitions, focusing more on maximizing individual privacy rights.
Due to Bitcoin's beliefs and technological limitations, some have turned to explore diverse cultures and practical products based on open-source neutral technology. Ethereum itself embodies the spirit of open-source technology practice.
Product types such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi), GameFi, and SocialFi are all results of technological market exploration.
These fields are pioneered by technologically neutral individuals with a free spirit and open mindset, attracting more speculators and participants.
Ethereum Core's Regenerative (Regens) Culture
Ethereum derives experience from the individualistic anarchist thought of cypherpunks, evolving into a more universal political ideology.
Meanwhile, drawing inspiration from the open-source neutral technology concept, it extends to product ideas that combine public nature and cultural openness.
Degenerative (Degens) Culture
Extending from the political universality of regenerativism, it attracts many financial nihilists.
These people, seemingly lacking faith, actually need a strong cultural reality - the existence of communities and organizations close to them - as redemption for their nihilistic spirit.
Based on the public product utility of regenerativism, it also attracts many speculative opportunists seeking disorder and extreme freedom.
They aren't bound by any beliefs, only focusing on trends and hype, seeking opportunities for wealth.
Looking at the development of the cypherpunk spirit,
Ethereum itself encompasses these three cultural forms: cypherpunk, regenerativism, and degenerativism.
Ethereum's cypherpunk spirit differs significantly from the fundamentalist cypherpunk.
Compared to the fundamentalism that emphasizes maximizing personal privacy, Ethereum has sublimated beyond this, possessing a grander and more concrete sense of social responsibility.
Relative to open-source neutral technological capitalism,
Ethereum focuses more on the public attributes of products, considering both the public nature of cultural properties and the public effects of product scale.
Therefore, Ethereum has elevated the initial cypherpunk spirit, encouraging various social thought experiments.
Meanwhile, it also advocates for technological openness, but on a cultural basis, developing products suitable for its own ecological culture and order.
In summary, Ethereum itself is a politically diverse container.
Analogous to the operation mode of a large government,
it must accommodate different cultures, encourage communication and cooperation within the ecosystem and between different Layer 2s, whether large organizations or small cooperatives;
it must also establish standards and build industry order. For example, while encouraging technological openness and integration, it maintains a sense of direction and order, suppressing excessive speculation and disorder brought by technological openness and scaling.
Therefore, the relationship between Layer 2 and Ethereum can be likened to that between children and parents.
The father (Ethereum) needs to give children (Layer 2) room to grow, while the children look up to the father as a role model and standard, striving upwards.
The mother (Ethereum ecosystem) provides a warm haven for the children, who need to respect their mother and embrace their family (ecosystem).
