In the previous part we have discussed the manner in which the Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of digital connectivity and pierced the myth of infallible governments. Additionally, we also looked at the concept of technological utopia and the lessons learnt from the Internet boom in the 1990s.

In this part, we will explore the potential use of blockchain in bringing to life the concept of technological utopia through the use of decentralized governance frameworks.

Blockchain Utopia As The Supreme Governor

From the outset, the use of blockchain-based decentralized governance frameworks would dispense with the security threats arising due to risks associated with single point of failure (SPOF) to which centralized systems of governance are subject.

Additionally, the absence of a central authority eliminates the possibility of those who are in control resorting to cooking the books i.e. engaging in fraudulent bookkeeping practices to serve their own interests.

Under a decentralized governance framework, ledger records are distributed to all the participants in the network thereby warranting accountability and ensuring transparency.

Better still, the use of public ledgers would render the records to be visible to all and sundry. Fair to say, public oversight is indeed the best safeguard just like how sunlight is the best disinfectant.

The wide distribution of ledger records brings with it another benefit in terms of enhancing due governance by ensuring immutability of the records. In conventional digital records, the use of ephemeral records recorded in the universal language of numbers consisting of ones and zeros renders immutability to be implausible.

Under a decentralized governance framework, any unauthorized change, however small, in the value of the information stored in the distributed ledger records would be immediately noticeable as it would translate into a big effect across the network.

Through its harnessing of the butterfly effect phenomenon, the consensus algorithm of decentralized governance frameworks effectively secures the distributed ledger records of its network from unauthorized tampering and illegitimate frauds.

This effectively enables decentralized governance frameworks to function as a check and balance mechanism to ensure that those who are in charge properly toe the line.

Bringing to Life the Spirit of Democracy with Blockchain

For far too long a time we have been subjected to the top-down approach across various areas of our society from the domain of corporate governance to that of public administration.

The prevalence of the top-down approach across most areas of civilization are anathemic to the ideals of democracy to say the least. Under a centralized mode of governance, those who are in positions of power and authority inevitably run the show and rule the roost while paying lip service to democratic ideals and principles.

Through the use of decentralized governance framework, the general public together with network participants can come together as reasonable observers and zealous watchdogs to ensure that democracy would no longer be just rhetorical propaganda but instead is properly put into practice in line with its true spirit as envisaged by the ancient Greek philosophers.

As George Orwell once said, “he who controls the past controls the future”, perhaps blockchain may prove to be the tool which enables the democratic visions of the ancient Greek philosophers to reverberate across humanity’s futuristic technological utopia.

Sources: Watson Law and University Of Oxford

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