I think you may be confusing economics terms with moral and ethical distinctions. I’ll grant that the idea of productive and unproductive labor is an outdated economic concept.
Regardless, academically defining something as more or less productive than something else is not authoritarian. Nor is deciding personally if something is “good” or “bad”.
Now if someone in government decided to create and pass legislation based on their personal academic or philosophical beliefs, and not based on some factual usefulness of the legislation, than I think that would fall under the definition of authoritarian.
> I think you may be confusing economics terms with moral and ethical distinctions
mjburgess’ comment appears to be using virtuous, religiously worded, moral arguments against the “waste” of cryptocurrencies. I am not making an economic argument and neither was mjburgess: my argument is about liberty and I am against people that imply that our personal choices or values are unworthy, because by their morals the choices of others are waste. I personally might agree that cryptocurrencies appear to be negative value for the economy, and I might see them bring negative value to some of my acquaintances. That is not the issue. We should aim for the ideal of being as free as practical to make wasteful choices: the waste of having a child, breathing, thinking, or doing absolutely anything, really. As you say, that freedom needs careful balancing against how our personal liberties affect others.
I am looking at that comment as an single example within a wider milieu: one dangerous opinion dressed up in what superficially appears to be a sensible economic argument.
> is not authoritarian
Strawman words in my mouth. I never said it was authoritarian, I said: “down that path lies authoritarianism”.
Regardless, academically defining something as more or less productive than something else is not authoritarian. Nor is deciding personally if something is “good” or “bad”.
Now if someone in government decided to create and pass legislation based on their personal academic or philosophical beliefs, and not based on some factual usefulness of the legislation, than I think that would fall under the definition of authoritarian.