One lesson of the medieval period is that that when the previous society(Rome) breaks down, a period of mysticism sweeps in, from which the new society emerges. This happens on a smaller scale with e.g. "Great Awakenings". Mysticism normalizes a reality, and therefore it doesn't obey the rules of reason, rather, great efforts are made to rationalize its existence from a pragmatic beginning. Philosophers cannot reach agreement on what is good for people, so religious experiences fill in the gap, and that's always been the case with the economy too.
People used to believe that conquests made wealth; gradually they became convinced that productivity made wealth. Productivity is now on the chopping block, since it is seen as something that's killing the planet with inexhaustible resource demand. We're looking for the next way of seeing things. Crypto doesn't make sense now, and I say that as someone deeply invested in it, but it has that kind of potential to change our frame of reference after an awkward transition takes place. Maybe it makes sense if we go further with it. The experiment is in progress, but it's already exceeded the usual bounds of a cult or scam.
People used to believe that conquests made wealth; gradually they became convinced that productivity made wealth. Productivity is now on the chopping block, since it is seen as something that's killing the planet with inexhaustible resource demand. We're looking for the next way of seeing things. Crypto doesn't make sense now, and I say that as someone deeply invested in it, but it has that kind of potential to change our frame of reference after an awkward transition takes place. Maybe it makes sense if we go further with it. The experiment is in progress, but it's already exceeded the usual bounds of a cult or scam.