Consensys CEO backs Vitalik Buterin’s ‘make communism great again,’ advocates for ‘purer capitalism’

Consensys boss Joseph Lubin says decentralization could finally bring “real capitalism,” responding to Vitalik Buterin’s seemingly meta-ironic “make communism great again.”

Joseph Lubin, the chief executive of Consensys , has weighed in on Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin ‘s recent tongue-in-cheek “make communism great again” post, saying decentralization might be the key to finally achieving real capitalism.

His comments came in response to Buterin’s ironic tweet, which seemed to echo some of the ideas from his earlier long-read “degen communism,” which explored the concept of spreading wealth in decentralized systems.

“I personally believe we are currently ushering in a new era that I think of as collective capitalism. It is indeed time to make capitalism great for the first time, as we have never really experienced capitalism on planet Earth.”

Joseph Lubin

Lubin also explained why Buterin made the statement, saying “people keep shitting” on Vitalik, which pushes him to “provocatively and ironically lash out with a preposterous statement” — something that fits his typical absurd humor.

“Note that his mom and dad escaped communist Russia with him when he was a child. And his dad, Dima, fully trusts V’s judgement.” Joseph Lubin

While Lubin didn’t dive into specifics on how “pure capitalism” could work, he emphasized that decentralization could help make it a reality.

In early April 2024, Buterin rolled out an article , suggesting that governments and crypto projects could harness market chaos for societal good. In his manifesto, the Ethereum co-founder pointed to the city of Austin, Texas, as an example of “degen communism” in action. He praised the city’s liberal housing laws, which have helped create a boom in apartment construction and lowered rent prices by over 10% since 2022.

Buterin sees the drop in rent prices as a clear example of how free market forces can create broad benefits — though some, like long-time residents, might disagree with the outcome.