THE MIRROR AND THE MAZE: A Manifesto for Intrinsic Value in an Extrinsic World

Executive Summary: The "Freedom by Dying" Paradox

There is a satirical article circulating online titled "Wow: This Man Finally Achieved Financial Freedom By Dying." It tells the story of a man who escaped his debts not by paying them, but by ceasing to exist. We laugh because it is funny; we feel a hollow ache in our chests because it is true.

For the neurodivergent, the marginalised, and the spiritually conscious, the modern economic system does not feel like a "marketplace of opportunity." It feels like a high-pressure containment zone. We are told that money is a tool, yet we see it used as a weapon. We are told to "build our portfolio," yet we feel our souls eroding with every metric we chase.

This report challenges the dominant narrative of Capitalism as a religion of accumulation. It argues that the pursuit of "Number Go Up"—whether in Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) or Cryptocurrency—is a spiritual and psychological trap.

Instead, we propose a radical shift: The separation of Survival (Utility) from Value (Sovereignty). We must learn to live in the system without being of the system, using technology and faith to reclaim the one thing the central banks cannot print: our humanity.

PART I: THE DIAGNOSIS

Capitalism as the Cult of Compound Interest

We are taught in schools that capitalism is simply "private ownership" and "free markets." This is a sanitised lie. If we look at the mechanics of the system, specifically through the lens of critical theory and Islamic finance, a darker definition emerges.

Capitalism is the belief in Capital. And Capital is the belief in Riba (Compound Interest).

1. The Growth Imperative

The modern fiat system creates money as debt. Every Ringgit in circulation is owed back to a bank with interest. Because the interest is not created alongside the principal, the total debt always exceeds the total money supply.

• The Consequence: The economy must grow exponentially forever just to prevent collapse.
• The Human Cost: This forces us into a "rat race." We cannot pause. We cannot be content. To stop growing is to die. This is not an economic law of nature; it is a mathematical cage designed by humans.

2. The Extrinsic Trap

In this system, value is purely extrinsic. You are worth what you own, what you earn, and what you produce.

• For a neurodivergent person, this is terrifying. If I cannot produce at the speed of a machine, am I worthless?
• For the poor, this is oppressive. If I cannot generate "yield," do I not deserve to eat?

We are conditioned to treat money like a high score in a video game. We hoard MYR, treating the currency itself as the prize. But as we have discussed, MYR has no intrinsic value. It is paper. It is digits. It is a social contract—a collective hallucination upheld by the authority of the State. When we hoard it, we are not hoarding wealth; we are hoarding "mirrors" that reflect nothing but our own anxiety.

"Capitalism is a religion without atonement. There is only the expansion of debt." — Walter Benjamin (paraphrased)

PART II: THE ILLUSION OF THE "FOLIO"

Redefining Value from the Inside Out

I used to look at people who treated money as a "tool" to make more money. They mocked the poor for using money to buy phones or clothes, claiming the poor were "bad with money." They claimed that the "wise" use money to charge compound interest—to get a return on labour they did not perform.

This broke me. I told my psychologist, "I can't create or do anything like them, therefore I don't have value."

Her response was the turning point: "Your value is your honesty. Your genuineness."

The Mirror Analogy

Scholars like Al-Ghazali described money as a mirror.

• A mirror has no colour. It reflects the red of an apple or the blue of the sky.
• Money has no value. It reflects the food, the shelter, or the technology it buys.

When we obsess over the folio—the bank balance, the stack of cash—we are obsessing over the mirror itself, ignoring the image. We are starving while clutching a reflection of bread.

True Value is Intrinsic.
For me, as a human being, value comes from:

1. Connection to the Divine: My worth is determined by my relationship with the Creator, not the Central Bank.
2. Genuineness: My ability to be authentic in a world of fabrication.
3. Capacity: My ability to self-host, to learn, to manage my health, and to help others navigate the digital world.

PART III: DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY

Why We Need Decentralisation (But Not for the "Lambo")

I expressed frustration that exchanging MYR for digital currencies like ALGO feels pointless because "ALGO can't buy anything around me." This frustration was real, but it stemmed from trying to use ALGO as a replacement for MYR.

We must stop viewing Cryptocurrency through the lens of "Getting Rich." That is just Capitalism 2.0. We must view it through the lens of Decentralisation and Control.

1. The "Lockbox" Strategy

The fact that I cannot easily spend ALGO at the local kadai kupi in Sabah is not a bug; it is a feature.

• MYR is for Flow: It flows out to pay for food, internet, and transport. It is liquid. It is slippery.
• Crypto is for Sovereignty: It is a store of value that resides outside the authoritative control of the traditional banking system. It is a "break glass in case of emergency" asset.

By holding value in a non-custodial wallet, I am making a political statement: I demand the right to possess value without an intermediary. I want to protect my "intrinsic worth" from external censorship or debasement.

2. The Self-Hosting Rebellion

True wealth in the 21st century is not just money; it is Data Sovereignty.

• When I host my own services on YunoHost and Docker (domains like *k-dns.top or top.top-top-top.top), I am reclaiming the means of digital production.
• I am refusing to let Google or Meta monetise my thoughts and interactions.
• This is "Humane Tech." It is technology that serves the user, not the shareholder.

This is the bridge between my activism and my IT studies. My server uptime is my real portfolio.

PART IV: THE STRATEGY

How to Live "In" the System, Not "Of" It

We cannot simply "opt-out" of the economy. We need to eat. We need to pay for petrol and medicine. We are not monks living in caves.

So, how do we reconcile our hatred for the exploitative nature of Capitalism with our need to survive within it? We adopt a Dual-Mode Strategy.

Mode A: The Vampire Filter (Handling Fiat/MYR)

Treat the Malaysian Ringgit purely as a Utility Token, like a battery charge or a prepaid top-up card.

• Do not attach emotion to it. It is not a measure of your success. It is a measure of your fuel.
• Do not hoard it beyond safety. Accumulating massive amounts of fiat currency is "melting ice." It loses value to inflation and ties your heart to the system.
• Use it for Survival and Capacity. Spend MYR to build real assets: your health, your education, your server hardware, your family's well-being.

Mode B: The Sovereign Allocator (Handling Decentralised Assets)

Treat decentralised tech (Crypto, Nostr, Linux) as your Principle Layer.

• Allocate Small Amounts. You do not need to risk your livelihood. Even a small amount of non-sovereign money is a vote for a different future.
• Focus on Utility. Use the blockchain for governance, for identity, for immutable record-keeping.
• Reject the Hype. Ignore the "crypto-bros" who want to replicate Wall Street on the blockchain. We are here for freedom, not for a yacht.

CONCLUSION: A CALL TO AUTHENTICITY

To my fellow activists, students, and neurodivergent thinkers:

Do not let them gaslight you into thinking you are "failed" because you are not rich. The system is designed to make you feel that way so you will keep running on their treadmill.

We must stop asking, "How can I make my money work for me?" (which usually means making it exploit someone else).
We must start asking, "How can I make my life work for my principles?"

• Your value is not in your bank account.
• Your value is in your honesty.
• Your value is in your refusal to normalise oppression.
• Your value is in your submission to the Truth, not the Market.

Let us use their money to buy our bread, but let us never sell them our souls. We build our own platforms. We host our own data. We define our own worth.

This is not just financial advice. This is resistance.