Both sides think their solution is decentralized and the other is centralized.
Big blocks wanted limited growth that still works on domestic machines. Big blockers believe in using Bitcoin as-is; small blockers want to "spam filter" (i.e. control) some transactions or use some third-party thing like Lightning.
Big blocks wanted limited growth that still works on domestic machines. Big blockers believe in using Bitcoin as-is; small blockers want to "spam filter" (i.e. control) some transactions or use some third-party thing like Lightning.