When Will Blockchain Replace Government?

Introduction

Some people have suggested that blockchain will eventually replace governments as we know them. I think there is a good chance that this will happen at some point. But I don't think this will take place in the near term or the middle term. I will discuss my view of when and on what conditions this could be possible.

The current system already is somewhat decentralized

It comes down to guns and jails. Who controls them makes the rules. Potential for violence is a crucial resource in a physical world. In the developed world, that resource is controlled by governance structures that are somewhat decentralized already. Already 200 years ago, a model where legislative, judicial and executive power were divided was introduced. Different political parties compete over access to these powers.

Problems arise when the elites form ties across party affiliations and collude against the interests of the rest of the population. That this is happening to a very significant degree is that rallying cry of every single populist movement in existence.

It would be easy to score points on Hive by repeating the mantra that the elites are out to get us, that the system is utterly corrupt and that we need to exit it as soon as possible. But to what extent is it is the populist message actually right?

What makes that claim somewhat suspicious is the very success of the populist platform in recent years. If the "globalists" called the shots and everything was completely hopeless, then Brexit would never have happened. Trump would never have been elected president and none of the populists parties in dozens of countries in the West could never have as successful they have been.

The populists are yet another diversion and mere puppets in reality? If you believe that, then I guess there is no disproving anything to you. Brexit, for example, was an actual undeniable real world example of a drastic diversion from the "globalist" agenda. The UK is now out of the EU and there is nothing any "globalist" can do about it.

Blockchain can enhance decentralization and break down barriers

The optimistic view is that blockchains enable automating much more fine-grained control over digital resources. Rules without rulers is the operating principle. I think that is a very powerful statement. By having a governance structure in place run by decentralized computer network implementing consensus is a powerful way to enforce a set of rules that no group of humans responsible for running a rule-based system, particularly in a top-down manner, can distort and corrupt. I think there is a great deal of potential there in reducing corruption.

Another aspect of blockchains is that they operate in the digital space and independent of physical location and across jurisdictions. That is a powerful proposition. The amount of red tape a DAO could potentially obviate is significant.

The problem of control over potential for physical violence still remains

Control over physical violence will be digitized to an increasing degree. In the military, an increasing number of weapons systems will have to be placed under computer control owing to the required response times exceeding human capabilities. The police will have to deal with cyber crime to an increased degree and it is certain that the police, too, will need to use AI to an increasing degree. Computers will increasingly take charge of preventing and investigating and catching the perpetrators. It would be highly desirable that there be a consensus mechanism controlling the legality of what automated law enforcement does. Increasingly sophisticated AI systems as tools for law enforcement in the hands of a small number of entities without much oversight, which would have to be automated, too, is dystopian scenario.

Conclusion

I think DAOs operating in digital spaces crossing jurisdictions and national borders will become commonplace in the future. They offer efficiency gains far superior anything the legacy system can offer. It is highly uncertain how legacy systems around the world will fit into the picture. Legacy systems are likely to fall increasingly to the wayside owing to the possibility of jurisdiction shopping. Agile systems enabling the users to pick and choose their jurisdictions to a high degree of precision will be developed.

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