The Need for Governance Won’t Go Away with Decentralization

“The future is centralized vs. decentralized” Jeff Deist is right. In fact, that future is already here. The centralized vs. decentralized governance debate is growing every day. Decentralization enthusiasts are convinced that it is the next big thing. They cannot wait for web3 to take form and shape.

Then there’s this;

Decentralization advocate and DeFi financier Lawrence Lundy-Bryan notes, “There is no such thing as decentralized governance.”

Indeed, total decentralization means zero governance. That’s the kind of decentralization gospel that’s being preached right now.

However, the need for governance does not go away with decentralization.

Web3 enthusiasts’ excitement about a completely decentralized internet is misplaced because it will just breed chaos. That’s not to mean that decentralization is bad. What’s bad is decentralization without governance.

Take for instance blockchain. The good thing about blockchain is that it is completely decentralized. No one knows the identities of the people involved in an otherwise public transaction. The bad part about blockchain is that it is completely decentralized. No one knows the identities of the people involved in an otherwise public transaction.

Blockchain offers liberty and freedom to all of us. However, freedom for everyone means freedom for drug dealers, pedophiles, money launderers, and all kinds of criminals.

We can all agree that centralized governance has a lot of ills. We’ve all got big tech and governments spying on us, and controlling our existence online. Decentralization will definitely solve that, but it also means zero governance.

So, how can we have decentralization and governance at the same time?

We all want privacy and also accountability from everyone else online. We need a Duly Constituted Public Authority (DCPA) with participatory governance. The DCPA will import the principle of accountable anonymity from our motor vehicle systems.

Think of the license plate on your vehicle. Everyone can see it but no one can tell your identity from it. The fact that everyone can see your license plate makes you accountable for all your actions while on the road. If you get involved in a road incident, your identity can be disclosed so that you are held accountable.

The City of Osmio is a PKI certification authority. In other words, it is a participatory DCPA. All residents of the City of Osmio can participate in its governance. That means Osmio can put individual human beings like you and me in control of the world's information infrastructure.

Governance does not always mean the existence of a government. Certainly, we do not need any governments to be involved in decentralization. What we need is a way to hold everyone accountable for their actions online. That accountability cannot be achieved without governance.

Again, Jeff Deist is right that the future is about centralized vs. decentralized. Governments and Silibandia (Silicon Valley + the broadband and media industries) are certainly not too enthusiastic about decentralization. Even with governments and Silibandia exercising authority over our existence online, there’s little to no accountability. Total decentralization without governance would just give criminals the space to completely wreak havoc on everyone else out there.