Blockchain: Changing Nation-States And The Economy

about 3 years ago

Blockchain is having profound impact upon the world. This single technology is going to radically alter the most basic concepts of civilized human life.

The institutions that we came to know are going to disappear. Over the next few decades, our entire world is going to change.

This is going to cause a great deal of disruption. We are already starting to see how resistant people are to it. Nevertheless, it will happen and there is little people can do to stop it.

About 15 years ago, we saw the emergence of the "Gig economy". This was an idea that many hailed as a boom for individuals. They could set their own hours, charge what they wanted, and enjoy more freedom as compared to working a traditional job. It was how it was presented anyway.

The reality is that it was a boom for the corporations who ended up laying people off and "gigging" them back for a fraction of the cost when the lack of benefits were taken into account.

Blockchain is spurring on another form of the gig economy. However, this is much broader. Before, anyone with a car could become a taxi; a home a hotel. Those without these assets were left out.

With the introduction of NFTs, anything can be part of the sharing economy. Whatever someone has can be shared out with others. Of course, for the use, there is a charge.

This introduces a completely new concept to the equation. As we move further into the digital realm, we are going to see a lot more innovation in this area.

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The Global Brain is starting to take hold. While in its early stages, this is going to be a living being that we are all tapped into. Thus, the knowledge that any of us will possess (have access to) is going to increase drastically as this "life form" evolves.

It is also going to put Nation-States on deathwatch. The process is already beginning although few realize it. By the middle of this century, the concept of the Nation-State will be eliminated. The idea of controlling someone based upon geographic boundaries will be understood to be absurd.

Presently, the United States government rules over 330 million people; China 1.3 billion; India about 1.4 billion. In contrast, Facebook has as many users as the populations of China and India combined.

Nation-States were designed to control humans. There will no need to do this when in the networked world. Smart contracts will provide the "rules" for both humans and machines. This will rapidly make them obsolete.

Our present institutions are already showing how they are ill-equipped to keep pace with the technological advancements. Humans, especially older ones, simply do not understand what is happening and how to adapt. They are operating from old models which are akin to the walls surrounding cities during feudal times.

UBI will keep the Nation-State relevant for a few more years once that is implemented. Just like zombie corporations are kept alive by low interest rates and easy credit, the Nation-State will find some use by providing people a minimal level of sustenance. However, this will also be short lived since the new paradigm will offer people so much more.

The present system is constructed around scarcity. Blockchain operates in an abundant world. Digitization knows few limits. As long as computation and communication systems keep advancing, which they are, the Global Brain will keep expanding.

Networked intelligence will extend to all things. We are moving towards a cybernetic age (Internet of Things) which will extend past the present use cases. Right now, capital markets are really the true epicenter for this model yet it will grow. Abundant resources become available when this transition occurs.

We can start to see how the rewards can add up when distributed widely. Uniswap is a prime example of this. It did not exist 6 months ago, yet has a value over $5 billion according to Coingecko.

This did not take away from any of the competition. It was a token that was dropped to the users of the application, providing them with governance. After this took place, Sushiswap entered the scene. It too carries a marketcap of over a billion dollars.

If there is automated trading, what is to say there cannot be hundreds of this applications. There number of transactions could enter the trillions, with holders of tokens profiting. This single idea could generate hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth for humanity.

We see the situation repeating itself on a regular basis. Hive also did not exist a year ago, yet here it is today. A few of the projects on that platform are doing drops in the next couple months, further "raining" money on people.

This has many looking towards a new economic model. Economic systems evolve over time. Capitalism was the most successful for the past 300 years, providing humanity with an enormous step forward over the systems that preceded it. However, we are rapidly heading towards a post-capitalistic world. This is something that will likely happen sooner than people think.

Nano-nations will be forming, both in the physical and digital realms. People are already starting to engage in seasteading. As they combine, we could see mini-nations arise, with their own set of rules. They will be tied to the global brain, enjoying all the benefits of technology. Simultaneously, people will be living in many different networks, each with its own economy.

Our present scarcity system operated because it dealt with the distribution of "stuff". As we enter the realm of ultra-realistic VR and nano-production, all institutions, value systems, and political systems that were based around scarcity will crumble.

This is when we will hit the economic singularity.

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