I don't know much about cryptocurrencies or economics or Bitcoin politics, but I don't think it's magic money. I believe they created value by providing a possible solution to an existing issue - that is, the scalability problem. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Core created value by reasserting its stability.
I also don't see the duplicated money as a gift, but rather as a statement. They are claiming the existing blockchain just like they're claiming the name Bitcoin. I see this as a battle of sorts over the future of Bitcoin.
Nonetheless, I'm glad to see this issue being addressed, and I'm really curious and eager to see how this evolves, whether we just kickstarted a descent into inflation, or whether Bitcoin just proved itself able to survive this kind of things.
Regards!
It's certainly no more magic than fiat currencies. Thanks to central banking activities, those are essentially split just like BCH every few years (think inflation).
Yes. And also, unlike with fiat money, we've got the choice to ignore and not accept Bitcoin Cash - as many did, if I'm not mistaken.