Can Ethereum Save US Democracy
An experiment born in an age of unlimited privilege and unlimited personal growth can die in this era of unlimited privilege that limits personal growth.
Part One- The Opportunity Democracy
The Framers were a far-sighted group to be sure. They were
valiant men that risked hanging to pursue a reachable though difficult dream of
nationhood. For them, the first step was independence from a colonial master
and an Insane King. They saw the vast potential for wealth and growth in the
land, water and resources of the America they knew- and they imagined that the
boundless energy of its population would never exceed the opportunities that
were so abundant, and stretched a far as the mind’s eye could see.
There was little concern that the tendency of wealth to coagulate economies of nations and struggle growth with suffocating privilege
and class-ism. One of the leaders had that visionary, if dark, prognosis for America. Governor Morris
of New Jersey- predicted the difficult end of the American experiment as
wealthy people accumulating so much wealth that they would have the power to
put a strangle hold on the economy and the growth potential for nearly everyone
else. Welcome to 2017- Governor Morris.
Democracy was born in Conflict and Abundance
The American experiment had written and spoken values of
nobility- freedom and the inherent worth of every individual. Like the voices
of Athens in the 4th Century, Jefferson might have reached to slaves to get a
refreshment after speaking of the evident truths of equality.
The Founders denied the vote to the women that fought in the
Revolution, and denied the men that fought too. The colonial wealthy class had
no idea of sharing power with the lower classes- although they did not impose
class representation like England- House of Lords, House of Commons and so
forth.
The American equalizer was the measureless abundance of opportunity-
there were fertile fields for the taking, plains full of buffalo, forests full
of deer, and streams abundant with fresh water and fish. The economics seemed
clear: go west and claim anything you
can’t afford in the east.
Can the evolving Value Economy and Ethereum restore the freedom of opportunity that
was the silent foundation of the American experiment in Democracy?
As humans, we fail so many benchmarks of social evolution.
Yet, in less than 25 years, the computer has taken hold, the smartphone has
taken over, and Information Technology became a frontier for economic growth.
The wealthy classes have taken control of IT and largely stemmed the tide that
began in our Silicon Valley and was replicated in other advanced economies. The
wealthy hang onto the pillars of trusted third parties- law, banks, insurance,
privilege-based investment, and government regulation controlled- and to some
extent-corrupted by industry influence.
The Jobs Act of 2016 was in part a recognition of the
universality of investment and growth that can spontaneously arise and flower
when governments controlled by wealth interests do not interfere effectively.
The rules that carry out the Jobs Act conspicuously attempt to limit investment
and create distorted access to early stage investment based on wealth.
The Value Economy story may begin with Bitcoin and Initial
Coin Offerings (ICO’s), but it casts a shadow far greater than the spontaneous
fiat Cryptocurrency or cybercurrency. The new economy emerges from spontaneous opportunity
taken- an Uber theory – spontaneous capital opportunity and a technological
underpinning that can revolutionize the essence of transactional value.
Startups are the
lifeblood of IT…
…and wealth had begun to strangle the funding. Traditional
Banking gave way to relaxed traditional banking. Corporate funding became more
like the energetic industries it engaged.
But it was crowdfunding that lit a fuse for the startup industry.
Crowdfunding and Ethereum
Crowdfunding is another great step that amounts to a
fledgling beginning when viewed in the larger context of a global value based
economy. Crowdfunding in cybercurrency may prove both powerful and unregulable.
Because of blockchain, cryptography, and Ethereum, crowdfunding can use smart
systems and it does not need central government oversight to enforce
reliability. Ethereum is also immune to the siren call of insurance that acts
upon the national economy as if an anchor in the mud .
The new face at the
table is not another variation of staid hidebound wealth. It is Ethereum and blockchain technology*. It as shown the way to growth without the trusted third parties
that apply the brakes to economic evolution. The new value economy provides
opportunities for investment and growth not tied exclusively to traditional
wealth. Innovation can create value, and value can create many forms of
capital.
Crowd style Investment: A Revival of Opportunity
Real time investment activity over the past five years
demonstrated the potential for crowdfunding as a major source of investment
capital. In 2014 the global total raised through crowdfunding exceeded $16.5 B.
Some industry sources estimate the
current 2017 total in excess of $34 B.
The structure of crowdfunding is amenable to scale to adjust
risk for investors. Groups of medium to large investors can support projects as
well as larger groups of small investors. All investors can aggregate
investment amounts and accept nominal leadership in selecting projects, then
smart systems can assure that projects will perform or lose investment.
Ancillary business activities include managing investment
groups and assets, developing projects, and creating smart agreements. In an era of wage stagnation and negative wage
expectations in many sectors of the US economy, investment in IT startups can help extend the
reach of wage earners to enhance income and open-up business ownership.
Unlike penny stocks and highly speculative investments
subject to manipulation and abuse, Ethereum with blockchain technology offers a
guarantee of transparency and accurate accounting. Investment is a key to
opportunity in the IT age, and crowdfunding can open investment to everyone.
Sponsorship and promotion can come from numerous sources and
activities. They include the below- described potentials.
·
Social media type platforms to engage, inform,
and encourage investment in IT startups including cash, fiat currency assets,
and cryptocurrency. These platforms seek to bring freelance professionals, programmers,
and developers into collaborative relationships,
and to bring investors into early-stage investments.
- · Spontaneous organization from private initiatives.
- · Political action that provides tax incentives and credits crowdfunding investment below a certain size, such as $1,000 or less per year. The Jobs Act rules could be a vehicle for this type of action,
- · State and local tax incentives, credits and matching funds for crowdfunding investments below a certain size such as $1,000 per year or less.
- · Commercial products aimed at nominal risk investment among a wide audience.
__________________________________
Sources:
Ethereum- a vast platform
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-ethereum/
*Goldman Sachs on Blockchain
technology
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/blockchain/
- Wealth and Democracy- see e.g. Discussion of economic
concentration and impactful excesses of
wealth
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