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> That all changes when you get a single bad actor who takes advantage off their weaknesses and well-meaning nature and controls the new system I think part o

> That all changes when you get a single bad actor who takes advantage off their weaknesses and well-meaning nature and controls the new system I think part of the goal of these new decentralization movements is to create a system that has no weaknesses, despite how impossible that may seem. For example, using paper money has the weakness that people can counterfeit it. A naïve solution to that problem is putting security threads, serial numbers, and watermarks on the cash to make it harder to counterfeit. A more complete solution would be something like a blockchain-type ledger. You cannot counterfeit an entry in a log that everyone in the world shares without corrupting enough people in the world to support you.

bbctol 10y ago
But the weakness that causes people to take control of the Wild West isn't counterfeiting, it's just the inevitable end result of the chaos. The issue isn't fraud, it's that even people accumulating money honestly turns harmful over time; you acquire money because you're good at business, you use that money to buy out competitors, you pass that money on to your children as is your right, your children use it to consolidate more power... power is often a positive feedback loop, and no matter how solid the system of exchanges, it loops back to feudalism without regulation.
- visarga 10y ago
  So redistribution of money is necessary to prevent the accumulation of power. Blockchain is trying to do the same thing essentially - not allowing a single actor to operate more than 50% of the computing power. When power concentrates too much, the system breaks down.
  - Crespyl 10y ago
    And we already can seen bitcoin mining pools in China that collectively approach or exceed 50%. It's almost impossible to avoid concentration of power in any system that provides value to power-holders.
    - spacehacker 10y ago
      Indeed, the most powerful agents do not have any correction signals to fear from above. They can rather impose rules on the system themselves. One can only avoid such dynamics by empathy (which is a very weak guarantee) or by making the government being controlled by the people and stronger than the most powerful players (which is democracy).
TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
Your comment completely disregards the parents entire thrust. And boils down to: because blochchain Pass the kool-aid.

bbctol 10y ago

But the weakness that causes people to take control of the Wild West isn't counterfeiting, it's just the inevitable end result of the chaos. The issue isn't fraud, it's that even people accumulating money honestly turns harmful over time; you acquire money because you're good at business, you use that money to buy out competitors, you pass that money on to your children as is your right, your children use it to consolidate more power... power is often a positive feedback loop, and no matter how solid the system of exchanges, it loops back to feudalism without regulation.

visarga 10y ago
So redistribution of money is necessary to prevent the accumulation of power. Blockchain is trying to do the same thing essentially - not allowing a single actor to operate more than 50% of the computing power. When power concentrates too much, the system breaks down.
- Crespyl 10y ago
  And we already can seen bitcoin mining pools in China that collectively approach or exceed 50%. It's almost impossible to avoid concentration of power in any system that provides value to power-holders.
  - spacehacker 10y ago
    Indeed, the most powerful agents do not have any correction signals to fear from above. They can rather impose rules on the system themselves. One can only avoid such dynamics by empathy (which is a very weak guarantee) or by making the government being controlled by the people and stronger than the most powerful players (which is democracy).

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago

Your comment completely disregards the parents entire thrust. And boils down to: because blochchain Pass the kool-aid.