Inside Softwar – Chapter 1 Breakdown
Below is a detailed summary of Chapter 1 in Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin, organized by section. This should help you keep track of key ideas, see how they connect, and identify specific areas to consult for more depth. If you want more context on a particular part, I’ve indicated which sections or passages you may want to revisit.
1.1 Inspiration
The author, Jason Lowery, begins by referencing two iconic industrial-era thinkers—Nikola Tesla and Henry Ford—who speculated on the possibility of an energy-based or electricity-backed system that could eliminate certain causes of war.
Tesla predicted a future of “intelligent machines” competing in energy contests (rather than humans dying in war), and Ford talked about an electricity-based currency to free people from monetary manipulation. Lowery poses the possibility that both men were effectively describing the same future technology: a non-kinetic, electro-cyber form of warfare that could be powered by computers.
He raises the idea that Bitcoin’s “proof-of-work” system could be that technology—an innovative, “soft” warfighting protocol that potentially fulfills both Tesla’s and Ford’s visions.
Recommended reading for more context: The last few paragraphs of Section 1.1, where Lowery links Tesla and Ford’s ideas to the concept of a “softwar” protocol.
1.2 Justification
This section explains why the author believes a new theoretical framework is necessary to understand the strategic significance of Bitcoin. Lowery notes that societies often fail to recognize the military potential of emerging technologies. Examples include the initial dismissal of gunpowder as medicine, the neglect of cannons by Emperor Constantine XI (leading to the fall of Constantinople), and the early disregard for airplanes as militarily valuable. All these historical vignettes highlight how risky it can be to ignore new power-projection innovations.
Lowery underscores four main barriers that slow the adoption of vital new power-projection technologies:
General lack of warfighting knowledge among the public.
Pacifism that makes people reluctant to see certain technologies as warfighting tools.
Analytical bias—people fixate on a technology’s initially obvious use case (e.g., “cryptocurrency”) and ignore broader strategic or security aspects.
Cognitive dissonance—it can be emotionally or psychologically difficult to accept that disruptive new technologies could threaten long-standing power structures.
He argues that these barriers—which have caused nations to miss or discount crucial new weapons in the past—could affect how policymakers currently see proof-of-work and Bitcoin.
Recommended reading for more context: The historical examples of misunderstanding or dismissing new power-projection tools in Section 1.2.
1.3 Background
To give readers essential military context, Lowery references Carl von Clausewitz’s notion that “War is merely the continuation of policy with other means.” Clausewitz’s three-part definition of war is highlighted:
It involves “blind natural forces” or “primordial violence,” which (seen scientifically) are the raw physical forces measured in watts (joules per second).
War is a game of probability that rewards creative strategists.
War is an instrument to resolve political disputes.
Lowery explains how physical warfare stands in contrast to law-based or rule-based societies: law can be more energy-efficient, but it’s trust-based and inegalitarian, sometimes failing when an oppressive ruling class (or a neighboring power) refuses to play along. War, on the other hand, is zero-trust and purely physical, albeit far more destructive. In times when legal or diplomatic systems fail, war reasserts itself as the ultimate arbiter.
Lowery also points out warfare has benefits, even if they are painful to acknowledge—it acts as a great decentralizer of power, preventing a single entity from establishing unimpeachable control over all resources (though at a tragic cost).
Recommended reading for more context: Sections 1.3.1 (“Modern Warfare 101”) and 1.3.2 (“War vs. Law”), where Lowery connects Clausewitz’s ideas to modern frameworks, clarifying why societies end up reverting to physical power.
1.4 Objective
In this section, Lowery clarifies that the goal of the thesis is to propose a novel theoretical framework—“Power Projection Theory”—and apply it to Bitcoin, treating proof-of-work not as “cryptocurrency” but as a new form of non-kinetic warfare in cyberspace. He wants to avoid what he calls “systemic-level analytical bias” created by repeating the same standard financial/economic analyses of Bitcoin over and over. Instead, he focuses on how proof-of-work physically constrains attackers by imposing real-world energy costs, effectively leveraging the same logic that militaries use in physical security.
He explains it is crucial to analyze the national-security implications of a technology that suddenly enables people to project immense (non-kinetic) power in cyberspace, physically punishing or deterring adversaries—exactly what militaries do in land, sea, air, and space.
Recommended reading for more context: Any passages in 1.4 that talk about bridging “proof-of-work” with “power projection” and re-framing Bitcoin as a new security technology.
1.5 Thesis Structure
Lastly, Lowery summarizes the entire layout of the thesis:
Chapters 3–5 detail “Power Projection Theory” in three parts:
Chapter 3 covers physical power projection in nature (including how animals use it to secure resources).
Chapter 4 covers human society’s use of power projection, explaining the role of abstract power, its vulnerabilities, and why humans always revert to physical force.
Chapter 5 applies these ideas to cyberspace, discussing how a protocol like Bitcoin—often overlooked as just a “currency”—could be the first major example of physical cyber power projection.
Chapter 2 covers research methodology (grounded theory).
Chapter 6 presents final takeaways, research avenues, and policy recommendations.
He invites readers to understand each step in sequence, but also notes that concepts repeat (by design) in a “constant comparative” grounded-theory style.
Recommended reading for more context: Section 1.5, especially 1.5.1–1.5.6, which breaks down how each chapter stacks on the next.
Sections to Return to for More Depth
1.1 Inspiration: If you want more on how Tesla and Ford’s ideas foreshadowed the concept of “softwar,” this is a good place.
1.2 Justification: For historical comparisons of new military technologies (cannons, torpedoes, aircraft) and how they were initially misunderstood, read this closely.
1.3.1 (Modern Warfare 101) and 1.3.2 (War vs. Law): If you need more clarity on Clausewitz’s war theory or the interplay between law-based structures and physical force.
1.4 Objective: Summarizes Lowery’s reason for exploring Bitcoin from a non-financial perspective; ties the physical-power concept to a possible “electro-cyber warfighting” angle.
1.5 Thesis Structure: Outlines the rest of the thesis chapter-by-chapter, so you can see how the argument will build.
In summary, Chapter 1 sets the stage for the entire thesis by explaining why Lowery sees Bitcoin not purely as a digital currency, but as a brand-new form of power projection—a “softwar” protocol that might radically reshape strategic security in cyberspace.