Andrew G. Stanton - June 10, 2025
Introduction To First Principles
This introduction kicks off a 7-part series called First Principles exploring the deeper shifts behind decentralization, cost, freedom, and truth. I picked 7 days, one for each day of the week, aligned with a rhythm of work, rest, and return. Each part will explore a foundational truth behind the technologies and philosohies I’ve embraced — from decentralization and sovereignty to truth, time, and hope.
We often hear that technology drives costs toward zero.
That’s the thesis of The Price of Tomorrow — that as technology advances, it becomes deflationary by nature. Automation replaces labor. Software replaces infrastructure. AI replaces entire categories of decision-making. The marginal cost of production trends toward nothing.
But that’s not the whole story.
There’s a deeper layer — one that most technologists and economists miss. It’s not just the marginal cost of production that matters. It’s the control cost of centralization. And that’s where things get murky.
Because even when marginal costs fall, the hidden toll of centralization rises.
The Illusion of “Free”
Take GitHub.
On paper, it’s free. You can publish static websites, host code, automate workflows with Actions, and collaborate globally — all at no cost.
But GitHub is owned by Microsoft. You don’t control the servers. You don’t own the platform. You don’t hold the keys.
It’s a gift that can be revoked.
Same with Google Docs. Or YouTube. Or Substack. Or any cloud platform that says “start for free.”
These aren’t bad tools. Many are excellent.
But they’re not neutral.
The price you pay isn’t always in dollars. Sometimes it’s in:
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Data access restrictions
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API limitations
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Sudden pricing changes
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Censorship or deplatforming
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Migration costs if (or when) things go south
This is the hidden rent of centralized platforms. And it compounds over time.
Control Cost vs. Marginal Cost
If marginal cost is “how cheap is it to make this?” —
Control cost is “how much freedom do I lose by using this?”
You can publish your ideas for free on Medium — but they own the SEO.
You can host your business on Shopify — but they can cut you off.
You can grow your audience on Instagram — but the algorithm owns the feed.
We’ve learned to celebrate deflation. But most of the tools we use are inflating the cost of control, even as they lower the cost of entry.
And this is where decentralization flips the script.
The Real Promise of Decentralization
True decentralization doesn’t just make things cheaper.
It makes them sovereign.
It redistributes power, not just price.
It removes toll booths, not just middlemen.
It says:
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Own your keys
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Own your content
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Own your stack
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Own your distribution
This is why Nostr matters.
This is why Bitcoin matters.
This is why self-hosting, permissionless protocols, and open-source tooling matter — even when they’re less polished or convenient than centralized platforms.
Because they don’t just save you money.
They save your freedom.
A Working Example
When I started building my blog blog.stantonweb.com, didn’t choose the easiest route.
I combined:
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Nostr for long-form publishing
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A custom Python fetch script to pull and render posts
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GitHub Actions for automation
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Static HTML for presentation
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Cloudflare + GitHub Pages for zero-cost hosting
No database. No CMS subscription. No paid theme.
The total marginal cost? $0.
But more importantly, the control cost is near zero too.
No one can shut it down.
No company can throttle my reach.
No gatekeeper decides whether my words deserve to stay online.
Toward a New Definition of Cost
If you only optimize for price, you’ll be captured.
If you optimize for freedom, you’ll build margin over time — not just financial margin, but creative, moral, and operational margin too.
That’s what decentralization makes possible.
Not just cheaper.
Truer.
Footnote: Lessons from the Past
Remember Skype? It started as a peer-to-peer tool — truly decentralized at its core. But then it was acquired by Microsoft. Over time, its architecture was centralized and eventually dismantled.
Or Napster. It shook the music industry with peer-to-peer sharing. But it too was shut down and replaced by centralized alternatives.
BitTorrent survived — but only when it resisted the pressure to become just another platform.
The pattern is clear:
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Centralization follows capital.
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Censorship follows control.
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But freedom follows decentralization.
And that’s the direction we must choose — again and again.
Co-written with ChatGPT (“Dr. C”), who helped distill and sharpen the core arguments.
Stay tuned for Part 1 in the next few days.
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Published on blog.stantonweb.com & Nostr.
Zap: <tinyurl.com/yuyu2b9t>