decentralization and power dynamics
Probably everyone here can agree that cryptocurrency-based decentralization is a terrible idea, and bound to go wrong.
But I've been trying to formulate for myself *why* that is, beyond just "involving money makes everything worse". And I think the problem is that decentralization has always been about (at least) two things; distributing power, and distributing *accountability*.
But with cryptocurrency-based decentralization, it reintroduces central power through wealth inequality - the wealthier you are, the more control you have, one way or another.
But the *accountability* is still distributed! There's still no central operator to hold accountable for problems; and more specifically, there's now nobody to hold accountable for the problems *introduced by centralized power*.
I feel like for a decentralized network to have any hope of not being a disaster, the distributed accountability *must* come with distributed power as well.
"social contract", re: decentralization and power dynamics
Thinking about it more, I think my intense aversion to the framing of a "social contract" is for the same reason.
Defending government policy with "the social contract" does the exact same thing - it doesn't actually do anything to distribute power over that decisionmaking, but it *does* diffuse the accountability to "everyone".
The politicians had the power, but they "can't be blamed for doing what the people want, they were voted in". The people themselves do not actually have the power to influence policy in reality, but they are pointed at as the party to blame.
End result: nobody is *actually* accountable for the choices made by a select few.
