His remarks represent a well-worn trope of the far-right wing of American conservatives, who warn that citizens are being disenfranchised by growing government or establishment influence. The answer, according to Bannon? Cryptocurrency and blockchain advances being made in Switzerland, he argued.
«You're Just Serfs»
«That new currency is going to empower this movement, companies and governments, to get away from the central banks that... keep you on the spinning wheel and kill any type of thrift, efficiency, productivity you might have,» he said. So-called central powers want the working and middle class to solve problems like migration and unemployment, but don't give a «fare-the-well» about how, Bannon said.
«Between the currency, the citizenship, and your data, you’re just serfs. It’s a new serfdom. The way you break that is with a political movement that believes in subsidiarity and pushes the rights back to people,» he said.
«Listening Terms» With Trump
The big-picture political ideas from Bannon, sloppily dressed and unshaven, didn't get as much approval from the Swiss crowd as did his praise of Blocher. His urgings that problems feeding migration from Africa – which include poverty, violent conflict and environmental stress – need to be dealt with at home, not in Europe, also drew whoops of approval.
It isn't clear what influence – if any – the right-wing firebrand still has on Trump after the fallout which saw the U.S. president said Bannon had «lost his mind» after leaving the White House. Bannon said he is on «listening terms» with Trump, when asked whether the two are still on speaking terms: «Our lawyers do talk,» he said slyly.
Bannon's comments on cryptocurrency align with those of extreme libertarian cryptocurrency advocates, many of whom are eager to decentralize government and corporate power. Switzerland has rapidly advanced to a hub for cryptocurrencies: token start-ups are expected to surge by 50 percent to 1.5 billion francs this year.
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