Blockchain-Based Consensus in a CryptoTown SocietyOriginally published to CryptoBiz Magazine
August 2014 Issue pg. 30. (32-33 in viewer)
Please also see the
Reddit post for further discussion.
This version is the final draft. They may have edited it but I don't have a text copy of that.The implications of blockchain based consensus reach far beyond the integrity of our currencies. Individuals have never had the ability to independently verify the integrity of the information networks and hierarchies that compose their society. Even further still, we have never had a viable alternative to the profit motive, which is based on the consume and multiply model seen throughout nature. Technology threatens to put an end to scarcity at the same time our civilization careens toward the end of a parabolic rise in resource exploitation. Blockchain technology allows for the cooperation required to transition our society from the destructive motivation of profit, to those of human needs and sustainability.
This awakening may be put into context by studying the different ways in which we have shared information in the past. Spoken language has a limited proximity and spreads slowly while residing in the volatile minds of our early ancestors. Written language provided reliable storage and the geographical reach to enable expansive societies. The invention of the printing press brought broadcast media, capturing the knowledge of the world to book and leading us to the radio and television. The Internet brought us instant worldwide interactivity and collaboration between participants. With each revolution, the amount of information available to each individual has exploded.
The kind of information shared within and amongst societies ranges from cultural ideas to financial accounting and ownership. Access to and control of such information has been traditionally trusted to hierarchical institutions such as government, corporate media and central bank. This system ultimately relies on individual human trust, which is the reason that our exploits manifest themselves in the direction of our civilization. Blockchain based consensus allows us to construct and voluntarily participate in systems of rules designed to augment or replace critical points of trust within all levels of society.
The CryptoTown On The Ground project was launched to encourage collaboration between crypto pioneers, development talent, and expert guidance on the critical path toward mainstream adoption of crypto. A grassroots approach acknowledges that existing institutions are ultimately motivated to create scarcity and dependence and will not help us. Independence is achieved through the cryptomall model of local support networks and the the continual refinement of tools and methods employed. Although most of the crypto crowd is currently focused on cryptocurrencies, they are just a part of the global shift towards decentralization in which new elements of society are emerging from cryptographically secured trust.
The process of decentralization is like a swinging pendulum finding balance between hierarchies and networks. Some things may transition to a network model of cooperation like cryptocurrency, yet we may still try to pass the responsibility of protecting our private keys to centralized exchanges and wallet services. Throughout history we have tried many methods of societal organization, but until now, every facet has been subject to the exploitation of human trust. The profit motive, enshrined to law, is a cultural relic of an environment of scarcity and exploitation where technology now threatens sustainability and abundance. Crypto may help to form the bridge between a civilization forged in the fires of scarcity, to one ultimately motivated by human needs and sustainability.
We may gather insights about how the profit motive emerges from more fundamental trends by examining the diversity of life on planet Earth. In the absence of a natural predator, we can observe the exponential growth of a species, and the collapse of its underlying resources. When the underlying motive for each individual is profit and growth, the end result is a catastrophic depletion of carrying capacity. The exploitation of every last opportunity fuels a pervasive resistance to obsolescence, resulting in artificial scarcity and an obsessive aversion to solving problems. Institutional hierarchies built of human trust may feel threatened by the prospect of transparency, where exploitation of opportunities for personal gain may be the glue of the operation.
Real-time global interaction of culture and ideas, coupled with the authentic persistance of the blockchain provides individuals with equal access to the vast structures of society. As we develop the ability to interact directly with the uncensored contours of our collective will, wild phenomena such as the blockchain itself may emerge. Manipulation-free access to our peers may awaken a new consciousness which is aware of The Game, and may cooperate to become self-sustainable,
We are born innocent and taught by society how to react to each situation with programmed aversions and desires. We each believe most strongly in our own experience of what constitutes a normal society and culture. Awareness of this programming is required to transcend the fearful grouping and exploitation behaviors of a system that has nearly run its course. If we are to believe that currency is the most potent blockchain application, we may overlook the possibility of obsoleting the very concept of money and economics.