Many asked how my assertion of blockchain and cryptocurrency ending the Nation-State will come about. This is something that seems to unrealistic to people.
In this article we will go through how what is being created will end the Nation-State throughout the course of this century. The technologies we are creating will topple the biggest institutions in the world.
New structures emerging that will slowly chip away at the foundation of all major institutions. The only variable is how quickly it happens. Some will encounter issues long before some of the stronger ones. Nevertheless, in the end, we will see them all become obsolete.
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The Digital Age
Few can debate that we are entering the digital age. Over the past 30 years, with the introduction of the Internet, we saw many aspects of our lives becomes digitized. This impacted a number of industries while putting many companies out of business.
The way we receive information, watch videos, communicate, and acquire music was altered by this medium. We are going to see the next generation of the Internet change everything else.
Keep in mind this is an evolution that will take many decades to complete. There is a chance that many, if not most, reading this will not be alive to see the fully realized. As quickly as things are changing, it still could be the end of the century before most of it is evident.
As mentioned in Blockchain: The End of the Nation-State, our present government is ill-suited for the era we are entering. This form of governance is as applicable in the world we are creating as feudalism is today.
Therefore, it is going to be obsolete rather quickly. This does not mean it will collapse overnight. Yet the progression will happen with each passing decade.
In the meantime, the establish entities will put up a fight. They will turn to methods and approaches that were used for decades. Unfortunately, for them, they will fail.
The best example is the record companies. These institutions controlled the music industry. When file sharing came around, they say their revenues hit. So what did they do? They turned to the legal system and sued. At the same time, they got their lobbyists to approach the different members of Congress.
All of this was to no avail. In the end, even to this day, governments cannot stop sharing of copyrighted material online. Music and films are streamed from all over the world.
What was physical is quickly becoming digital. This is not the governments forte.
Blockchain: The New Model For Record Keeping
One of the primary tasks of governments is record keeping. Consider all the different things that we have to apply for that are kept on record by governments. In the past, we had to file paperwork with particular government entities to conduct whatever it was that we were trying to do. There are all kinds of licenses, titles, and deeds that we need.
All of this is kept on government databases. The government is responsible for managing all this information. It also sets the rules of what is needed and where it goes.
The first stage that is likely to happen is that much of this will be shifted to blockchain. As we start to move away from centralized entities, decentralized systems will be chosen. Blockchain, at its core, is a ledger for keeping records. Think about how much of an impact that has on the services governments provide.
What if, instead of dealing with a government entity, all the information we need is registered on blockchain?
Of course, this takes on an added meaning when things are not physical. It makes no sense to register virtual land with a government entity. If that is the case, it really makes no sense to do the same with Intellectual Property by filing for a patent or trademark. Simply put it on blockchain, perhaps as a NFT, and a clear ownership chain will be established.
This could also apply to physical items. They say possession is 9/10ths the law. Not when it comes to government. Ownership is who they claim it is. Thus, the future model will be that real estate, automobiles, businesses, and a host of other things in our physical world will be recorded in the same manner. It is just as easy to create a NFT on a decentralized blockchain to denote real estate ownership as it is to get a deed from a local government entity. In fact, it is a much simpler process.
Businesses
Next let us ponder all the time national governments spend overseeing businesses. Just think about all the bureaus of governments that exist simply to regulate, monitor, and facilitate different industries. There is little that the government does not have its hand in.
How will this be reduced and eventually go away?
This was explained in DAOs Are Going To Really Drive Governments Nuts. There is no way governments are going to be able to stand up to this new business structure.
We make a big deal about decentralized and distributed. It is something that is key going forward. Those entities that fulfill this are going to operate outside the reach of any government. Here we see their power dramatically reduced.
Suddenly, there is nothing to regulate of those industries which are made up of **Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).They can pass all the laws they want, if industries are operating outside the scope of what governments can do, they are basically impotent.
We can also add in the impact of cryptocurrency. Presently, governments are trying to regulate things. Remember, they are going to use those methods from the past. This will end up being a joke. Anything that is truly decentralized, both on a first and second layer, is out of their reach. Hence, as cryptocurrency expands, it will change the entire monetary and financial system.
What does the government do when most, if not all, financial transactions are beyond them? How many other agencies simply cease to be relevant?
Wealth
Governments like to develop redistribution programs. Here is a major service that these entities provide, whether effective or not.
We see so many parts of government exist to collect and redistribute money. This comes in all forms of "welfare", both individual and corporate. The amount of any nations budget that are basically handouts in some form is astounding.
Cryptocurrency seeks to change that. For years, we covered how this is ushering in the Age of Abundance. The development of Bitcoin started the process of monetizing the digital realm. This was a huge step forward, one that we are now just starting to realize. Anyone who is paying attention will realize the potential is enormous.
Consider how much wealth is going to be generated over the next 40 years? It is going to far outpace what took place the last few decades. The technology we are dealing with is far more advanced, hence providing much greater impact.
The area that cryptocurrency excels, as compared to the present system, is in distribution. Therefore, if allowed to flourish, cryptocurrency is going to enrich the masses as compared to just a select few like we see how.
All of this accelerates the deeper we go into the digital age mentioned above. The progression to what will eventually become the Metaverse is going to impact everything. The concept of the Nation-State in that realm is complete amiss.
The End Of The Nation-State
Digitization and decentralization is going to end the utility of the Nation-State. As shown here, we can see how the different segments of national governments become obsolete. They no longer will be required.
A big piece of the picture is identification. Presently, a nation is constructed by invisible lines on a map that dictate which you belong to and what governance one operates under. It is based upon the physical.
We are moving away from that. Digitization means we will operate not on a national level but, rather, a networked one. In fact, we will interact with many different networks although they will have many different names (worlds, rooms, multiverses).
The physical world is also becoming automated. We are not going to completely eclipse this reality (not any time soon at least). Hence, there are going to be physical requirements for us to survive.
That, too, is seeing a radical shift. Over the next couple decades, we will see localized production of energy, food, and goods. There is no need to deal globally, or even nationally, when something is produced locally. With technologies such as climate controlled farming, 3-D printing, robotics, and AI, we can see a lot of national production break down onto a smaller scale.
Our next major shift with the Internet will move it to being experiential. This is going to bind people together in a way that is much different from today. As we move away from national identity to one based upon our own freely chosen assembly, the resulting conflicts of the past will be minimalized.
Of course, there will likely always be some bad actors. This makes people wonder about security. The reality is that we are already seeing that transition very rapidly. As the world becomes more digital, the idea of using troops and attacking individuals is about as sensible as the old battle lines drawn where both side charge each other like a rugby match.
Conflicts are already moving to cyber. This is how the next generation wars will be fought. Of course, it is possible because there is centralization. As we see the digital world become more decentralized, it is harder to attack.
Bitcoin has operated in the open for more than a decade. Anyone is free to attack it and yet, in spite of near $1 trillion in value, nobody could hack it. Now imagine this concept multiplied by 1000 (or even 10,000). If both the base layer and what is built upon is it truly decentralized and distributed, there is no way to gain access.
In closing, there might be some need for localized governance over the physical arena. This is something that people who are in that area might opt for. However, this concept of the Nation-State is going to die over the next century.
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