Sometimes, I forget that we at Hive and in crypto in general, are at the tip of the spear in terms of the future economy. Not only are we trailblazing explorers, cutting through the jungle of legacy, we are also at the frontier of financial development for a healthier distribution, and taking the brunt of the flack, the ridicule, and the pushback from the controlling forces, so that the average person doesn't have to.
the tip of the spear
idiom
a person or group of people that is the first to do something considered difficult or dangerous, especially a group of soldiers, etc. who are the first to enter a battle area.
It is a battle, isn't it?
While many people choose sides based on their beliefs and how they identify, ultimately, there are only two sides, two factors, two positions to hold.
1. Centralised
2. Decentralised
The centralised position is where we have been for a few thousand years already, with monarchies, religions and governments holding the power to make decisions for us, to decide how we live our lives, and punish us when we do not do what they have decided is the correct way.
As the quote goes;
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton
And what the crypto movement is at the core, is proof that at least for now, there is not absolute power, because we still have the possibility to act for ourselves. It is a tenuous position though, as there are blurred lines between the centralised and decentralised systems in play, the institutions, the governments, the corporations. This means that the legacy economy supporters still have a lot of leverage over the decentralised participants. And, it isn't just the tools and mechanics, but probably the main control point, is that we have been conditioned to believe that there is no alternative but to rely on authority to look after us.
No matter how many times they fail.
And failure is something they are prone to, because authoritative control will always fail always fail the majority, not only because it will corrupt decisions to serve those in control, but also because there isn't the visibility or nuance to make accurate decisions for millions of different cases and conditions.
It is a one size fits all, and the size is best suited to the 0.1%.
And when one thing fails, it fails big and affects a lot of people. These tend to be those who aren't suited to the economic environment. The 99% will always bear the brunt of failure, because they aren't dressed correctly for the occasion.
And we the decentralised participants, are far from helpful in empowering ourselves, because by nature, decentralised communities are made up of those millions of people with different cases and conditions. This means that aligning resources and activities is challenging, as everyone wants something slightly different. This also is part of the protection mechanism though, because it distributes the eggs into many baskets, so single points of failure are not cataclysmic to the entire community. It is inefficient, and simultaneously robust.
The thing with decentralised systems is that there isn't just one spear tip, there are many. This makes it far more capable to try many things and fail, without having to risk everything. It is an inefficient innovation strategy, with low risk across the ecosystem, even though each comes with significant risk as an individual attempt.
Most in crypto are unlikely to care much at the moment about the war between centralisation and decentralisation, because they are trying to trade to buy a better life in the centralised world. For some time, this strategy may work, but eventually, all centralised governance and economies collapse. But, while I too want a better economic life, I try to remind myself that there is more at stake here than my own outcomes, because we are all affected by the centralised systematic abuse of the majority. So many of the world's current problems are caused by the centralised systems and the games they play to obtain more control and power, with us as both the financiers, and the cannon fodder left to die on the field of battle.
In the centralised system, we are slaves, not explorers.
Maybe decentralised governance and economy is just a story I tell myself to bring meaning to the time and effort and risk exposure. But, isn't the effectiveness of centralisation just a story too, a fairytale that we know doesn't work and always fails? One that breeds corruption and abuse, violence and hate? It isn't a fairy tale at all, is it?
It s a horror story.
I think I would rather die on a quest for a better world, than resign myself to a nightmare that I choose not to awake from. To be a tip of a spear for improvement, rather than a wall to protect the status quo.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
