The Cypher Punks' Claims About the Political Power of Cryptography

The cypher punk movement of the early 19 nineties made strong claims about the political power of cryptography. The nsa argued that americans could rely on a weak cipher, d e s, to keep themselves safe from identity thieves and hostile foreign governments. This was demonstrably false. But also listen to those who extol the virtues of block chain and crypto currency, and pretty soon you'll hear about the power of crypto currency to resist tyranny.