Philosophy of the Decentralized Internet

One of the reasons why decentralization has been so attractive to the "crypto-anarchist" is that it offers the palpable potential to remove the state from a large number of the key systems in a free society such as the banking system and the government. Most of the "centralization" in current society comes from the state which uses centralized systems (and hence, centralized control) to create laws, administer taxes and perform other functions. For example, one of the common complaints of central banks is that they must deal with the governments to make their money. While the "state" has its defenders, the philosophy here is that it provides a large incentive to create a system that could act much like a free market in theory. Of course, the "free market" is not nearly as free as people believe in most modern countries and, in fact, this is precisely the problem with the "free market."

Some philosophers have a strong negative reaction to the philosophical concept of decentralization. For example, Maximalist philosopher Robert Nozick argued that decentralization would cause a loss of order and lawfulness, and reduce incentives for people to take precautions against theft. Nozick had harsh words for the anarchist philosophy of libertarian socialism and he attacked this specific philosophy of decentralization, calling it "self-contradictory." He felt that this philosophy, and the libertarian philosophy in general, does not actually have the consequences that its proponents claim that they do and that the world would be better off without this philosophy.

Some critics, especially the ones who have been most directly impacted by decentralization, see the philosophy of the Decentralized Internet in a very different light. For example, some of the early proponents of P2P in the United States, such as John Gilmore, have said that the philosophy of decentralization is to be applied to a world where government is limited and the centralization of "power" is actually a bad thing. In this sense, many proponents of decentralization would use the decentralization of the net as a tool to remove "power" and centralize information, and in this sense, they do not have a direct conflict with those who are proponents of the philosophy of decentralization. In fact, many of these people believe that it is even the government and the state that should control the net, including the use of the internet.

As part of this philosophy, the Decentralized Internet is inherently decentralized, allowing freedom from the state, while simultaneously providing freedom to the people within a society to do as they wish. At the same time, this freedom to the people to do as they wish is limited only to the bounds of society and by society. Within society, a person's philosophy is their own and is not imposed on them by the state or any other entity.

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What makes for a Decentralized Internet?

There are three fundamental principles for the decentralized Internet. In a sense, they are the philosophical foundation, other than the technical aspect of the foundation that renders the blockchain possible to operate, for the decentralized Internet, and as such, they are presented here as an ethical, intellectual and logical exercise.

Ethical Imperative

The Decentralized Internet should be a network where everyone has a right to access and use the Internet and its resources. This means that the Internet will be Free to access and use. It should also be Non-Censored to avoid the possibility of censorship by governments and corporations. No one has a monopoly in the Internet, including companies that are the biggest in the world.

On the other hand, users of the Decentralized Internet should not have to pay to access and use the network. There should be no fees for access and use of the resources and services. There should be no tolls or taxes, no entry or exit fees or user fees. This is the ethical imperative of the Decentralized Internet.

Logic Imperative

An important question is: how can a Decentralized Internet operate? To answer this, it is essential to remember that every individual is responsible for the Decentralized Internet. Each individual, whether a citizen, a government or a corporation, is responsible for the proper operation of the network, i.e., for creating protocols, developing standards, publishing information and building consensus on how the Internet should operate. Without rules to guide individual activity, chaos will prevail.

There are different types of protocol and standards that make up the Decentralized Internet: protocols, standards and policies are created to govern access and use of information and resources. Some of these rules are mandatory while others are optional.

Economic Imperative

Economics is a science that deals with the allocation of resources and the utilization of these resources for the purpose of creating benefits that society as a whole. The purpose of the decentralized Internet is to facilitate the free exchange of ideas, knowledge and information. In this sense, it is like the physical world in which the value of goods and services can be determined based on the costs to produce these items. In a capitalist economy, the economic principle of ‘supply and demand’ is used to price goods and services in the physical world and this principle applies to the Internet.

However, the value of goods and services in the decentralized Internet can be determined by human intelligence in the sense that they will be based on the need of the user. For example, if someone wants to read a book, then it is most likely that the value of the book is proportional to the need of the reader. At the other end of the spectrum, when people need information about a disease or a product to make a decision, their need is greater than that of people who need to know if their dog has run away. This is the basis for the pricing of information on the Internet. The market for data is, in effect, the marketplace for human intelligence. Data is a resource that needs to be evaluated as to its value to the user.

At the same time, we need to consider the time value of money. Money is a medium of exchange and is usually defined as a unit of account. The time value of money is the difference between what can be produced at a certain time and what can be produced at a different time. As a consequence of the economic principle of supply and demand, the value of money decreases over time. This is the basis of inflation. If the value of money increases over time, it can be an indication of excessive inflation. The key is to realize that value of money can be inversely proportional to the supply and demand of money. For this reason, we can say that the Decentralized Internet is ‘Inflation-Proof’. Because there are no rules in the decentralized Internet, the monetary values of goods and services will fluctuate according to the laws of supply and demand.

Governance

Governance is the system of rules that can be used to control individuals and groups. The Decentralized Internet will not require any central government or corporation to control it. It is the task of individuals and groups to develop and apply rules, ethics and logic to the operation of the Decentralized Internet.

We need to start thinking about how to determine rules for the Decentralized Internet. For example, we can look to the physical world where there are standards, protocols and rules. Some standards are mandatory and should be implemented, whereas others are optional and can be decided by groups of individuals and governments. In the context of the Decentralized Internet, we need to consider rules that would govern access and use of resources. Some of these rules should be mandatory while others should be optional. For example, we need to consider rules that would govern access and use of content.

As it is in the physical world, it is impossible to control the Decentralized Internet because every individual or group can create their own rules to control access and use of information and resources. This process can take time. The first generation of the Decentralized Internet can be controlled by individuals and groups, but it can also be controlled by a single entity. To avoid this possibility, the second generation of the Decentralized Internet needs to be developed, and this is where the Blockchain can play a significant role.

Conclusion

One is left to wonder how profound of an impact the Blockchain and, ultimately, the subsequent resurrection of the Decentralized Internet will leave on the social and economical aspect of our everyday lives. The Blockchain, barring how amazing it has been to all of us, especially for us HIVE users, is but a mere tool that promises to decentralize all social, economic and political systems, this idea represents the perfect recipe for a technological revolution. We are already witnessing the effects on the governments, seeing as how regulators are frantically attempting to keep it under control.

For the record, the Crypto-Anarchist manifesto's predicted courses of action on both sides has become self-evident. And as we asymptote towards the next technological revolution, the dream of blockchaining our lives becomes evermore within reach.

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