Try donating to wikileaks with a credit card. Try buying porn with paypal. Your strawman of sudden total control is silly. This frog will be boiled slowly.

Of course, there is one way to be anonymous in a cashless society: purchase prepaid debit cards. One would think prepaid debit cards can be linked to the purchase, but no (at least where's I work). We had a problem a few months ago where a guy bought over $5000 with a fradulant credit card. However, because the prepaids can't be linked to the purchase, the cards can't be disabled; they are treated the same as cash.

Now, if you want to be paranoid, what you could do is purchase bitcoin, toss them through a tumbler, then purchase a prepaid debit card to use.

A lot of extra work compared to just using cash, but if societies want to go cashless, there are ways to be anonymous. Whether it should be that hard is up for debate.

>A lot of extra work compared to just using cash, but if societies want to go cashless, there are ways to be anonymous. Whether it should be that hard is up for debate.

Making it inconvenient can be an issue enough.

The Chinese firewall isn't about making it impossible to go to western sites. It's about making it inconvenient, so that most people use Chinese alternatives.

One other inconvenience I see is with the older generation who give money to their grandchildren.

> "Happy Birthday, Alice! Here's $100"

vs.

> "Happy Birthday, Alice! Here's a check for $100. Now, you can't use that right away. You need to take it to the bank and they'll turn it into a card you can use when shopping."

Also, when I was growing up, actually /seeing/ the money helped me appreciate it's value. I knew to be careful with spending because I could see how much I had (physically). My younger brother: "Can I get Overwatch? It's only $60!"

Will you purchase those cards with cash in the cashless society?

No. Normally, you'd just use your card to buy prepaids, but I mentioned if you were paranoid enough, bitcoin and bitcoin tumblers are an option.