The situation in Sri Lanka is all too familiar. A government that is totally corrupt collapses as the population of the country suffers. Of course, this was going on for some time as the heads of the government enriched themselves while most others were poverty stricken.
It is something we see far too often.
Throughout the world, tyranny is being ratcheted up. Oppression is achieving a new level. This is throughout the entire world. Nobody is spared.
Unfortunately, we are in for some pretty tough days in the near term. There is some light at the end of the tunnel though.
Cryptocurrency, along with a host of other technologies, are going to aid in our efforts going forward. It might be difficult to see now but we are about to make some major strides.
There will come a day when governments around the world are competing for people.
The Monopoly Is Going To End
Government's main advantage is the fact that it is a monopoly. When it comes to governance, there are few alternatives. People are forced to endure whatever rules are set forth, based upon where he or she is located geographically.
Blockchain brings forth the possibility of decentralized networked-states. Here we see the rise of the digital world starting to impact the choices people make. One marked difference is where thousands of people are opting to earn their living. By turning to cryptocurrency, many are enhancing the foundation of a system that is designed to provide alternatives.
These networks come with their own governance models, ones that differ greatly from the nation-state.
Some might argue that blockchain systems cannot threaten governments. Here is where something like the Hive Borehole Project stands out. It is providing something that is basic to the lives of people in those communities: local water.
Utilities are usually the domain of government entities. Yet here is an example of where a blockchain took over the construction.
Also, few can doubt the power of network-states as created by the likes of Facebook and Google. These are effectively major countries when it comes to their size. Their cash flow also surpasses that of many smaller nations around the world.
As an ecosystem such as Hive grows, the power it will yield in terms of economic productivity expands greatly.
These digital economies will affect people's lives more than their national ones.
Many Becoming Free Agents
With more people starting to gain their "living" from cryptocurrency, we are going to see a massive expansion over the next decade of the digital nomad. On the Internet, when digital assets are acquired and providing a return, one's wealth is not geographically based. Since it will be secured in a decentralized wallet that the person owns, the ability to move is much easier.
This could present a problem for many areas since they are dependent upon taxes. If migration outward starts to occur, this will cause an even bigger mismatch between revenues and expenses. Much of the developed world is already facing large demographic issues, meaning their economies are targeted for adjustment.
What happens when people have the ability to relocate to a different area? More importantly, how do things look when some countries get very aggressive in their pursuit of adding more people?
Ultimately, we could get to the point where digital nomads force the globalization of real estate. Areas that are heavily populated, which see a migration out, would have prices falling while the opposite happens in those areas where people are relocating to.
Economies will be greatly influenced by these factors.
This is something that governments will be confronted with. Of course, like always, it will only occur after the trend is firmly in place.
The Shift To Appeal
Governments are about power. This is fairly evident to most of us. No matter the system nor the party in place, it is about expanding their control over people so the few at the top can enjoy the majority of the benefits.
Decentralization shifts that a great deal. Even in the networked-states, we see the same type of behavior. Disagree with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, miraculous one's digital life, at least on that platform, ceases to exist.
This is the power of monopolies, or near-monopolies. There really are few choices.
Web 3.0 is already starting to provide a different path. Even in the embryotic state, we see how account ownership can make a difference.
The central premise of blockchain is that transactions on the ledger are immutable. This is a foundation from which an entire system of applications springs, providing people with a large number of options.
Here is where we might see the radical transformation entering. When countries are losing people, due to demographics and migration, along with many operating under different governance models in their digital lives, how long until these governments have to start getting aggressive in their pursuit of people?
Therefore, governments are going to have to be appealing as compared to oppressive. When large groups of people can simply relocate due to the fact they are not dependent upon a local geographic area, the entire equation changes.
Of course, we already see this capability within governments when they are trying to appeal to a large company to entice the building of a new manufacturing plant in their area. Isn't it interesting how they become very friendly and offer appealing policies when they want to?
This is something that is going to be forced upon them.
At present, cryptocurrency is attacking the financial and banking systems. This are two areas where government has a great deal of influence. This is where the positive feedback loop (for them) is erected. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is going to completely upend that. When a financial system operates on a peer-to-peer basis, the power of the government is severely diminished.
The pieces around these crypto-economic systems is starting to fall into place. Couple that with the other factors mentioned in this article and we can see how, in perhaps a decade, the outlook of governments is going to have to be radically different.
After all, they are going to have to compete for people if they want their national economies to keep growing.
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