Our democratic systems of today were designed hundreds of years ago, inwards a fourth dimension when letters were drafted inwards quill too ink, too so sent hundreds of miles over horseback to live shared betwixt individuals. Governing institutions required closed-door offices inwards monastic enjoin to grip too organize the massive number of documents required past times their agencies. This information module made sense because it was the well-nigh efficient alternative afforded to that detail era.
With the advent of the internet, the might to percentage information has changed so fundamentally that it is hardly comparable to the methods used during the eighteenth century. This decisive development of human communications has begun to shape our conception of regime every bit well. E-democracy, also known every bit digital democracy, is the term drafted to pull the influence that communication technologies are having on democratic governments. Some examples of digital republic are electronic voting too online regime services.
However, the model of governance nosotros job today is yet all also similar to the ones used hundreds of years ago. Though information has gone from a written substrate to a digital one, too the speed at which information is shared has increased exponentially, the full general human relationship betwixt the regime too the public is the same. Information is stored inwards centralized databases that citizens tin enquiry for information. H5N1 trust human relationship betwixt citizenry too the regime exists at the heart of this model, every bit it did hundreds of years ago. Blockchain engineering lastly introduces the might to supervene upon trust inwards regime offices amongst trust inwards a protocol based upon the impartiality of mathematics too cryptography. The immediate benefits of using distributed, too non centralized, systems inwards regime are efficiency, integrity too security; the long term benefits are a to a greater extent than involved too empowered citizenry.
Blockchain technologies stalk from the digital currency bitcoin, which was originally designed to cutting out middleman financial institutions (banks too credit companies) charged amongst maintaining financial transaction ledgers. Blockchains natural environs is financial, which is why blockchain tech’s largest impacts are inside the financial world. The Bank of England has fifty-fifty dubbed blockchain engineering to potentially live the “internet of finance.”
Though the bulk of novel financial blockchain projects are existence led for private sector businesses, public sector finance is also outset to sense ripples of the blockchain revolution. For example, the United Kingdom of Great Britain too Northern Ireland Department for Work too Pensions is trialing blockchain tech for job inwards tracking too distributing welfare too pensions. Another projection inwards the Republic of Georgia is piloting a blockchain-based nation registry. Chief executive Valery Vavilov of BitFury, the companionship heading the project, explains the concept every bit an incorruptible yet transparent notary service that would allow for real-time audits “not 1 time per year, but every 10 minutes.”
These exact characteristics could potentially advance the realm of taxes every bit well, which is why U.K.-based organisation DigitalCatapult, a catapult center meant to innovate the digital economy, is entertaining discussions on the topic. Moving taxation information too accounting records onto a public blockchain scheme would inherently render “more useful information too to a greater extent than certainty” to everyone amongst a stake inwards a acre — non precisely taxation agencies, but also citizens, job concern tycoons too regime officials alike. By storing a nation’s wealth on a public blockchain, real-time information could live used to increment organizational efficiency too cutting downwards on waste matter inside large organizations (which governments are) where inefficiency too disarray are endemic.
Opacity inside regime financial policy also distances the citizenry, discouraging citizens from researching matters too forming opinions. The increased visibility too inherently uncompromising transparency of blockchain-based systems would deal brand regime budgets too spending to a greater extent than clear, therefore lessening the barrier betwixt regime too the citizenry, too ultimately encouraging to a greater extent than interest inwards democratic processes.
The characteristics which brand blockchain engineering incredibly valuable extend beyond the realm of finances too the tracking of assets. For example, democratic countries could produce goodness past times using the might to rails transfers of value on a public yet incorruptible ledger scheme to fundamentally alter election processes.
Currently, democratic countries precisely about the globe job implementations of the undercover ballot system. Despite modest nuances of divergence inwards the electoral processes of the world’s various democratic countries, the fundamental concept is universally the same: voters become to polling stations too cast anonymous newspaper ballots into a ballot box. The votes are afterward counted too added to the terminal tally of votes from dissimilar polling stations precisely about the nation.
Though dissimilar forms of electronic voting are used precisely about the world, the functions too results are nearly identical, albeit merely to a greater extent than efficient, than physical ballot voting. Ballots become into a dark box, too election results come upward out. This method has advantages, but it has drawbacks every bit well. This scheme is based on a trust human relationship amongst the 3rd political party or regime collecting too counting ballots, pregnant mutual citizens receive got absolutely no agency to guarantee that their votes were counted correctly, or that no election fraud was carried out behind the scenes. It’s no wonder voters receive got petty organized faith inwards the scheme too that countries endure from depression voter turnout too a politically apathetic populace.
Blockchain solutions for the job of centralized elections receive got been proposed past times the Follow My Vote project, which has designed opened upward source election software based on blockchain technology. The scheme would stand upward for transfers of value on the blockchain non every bit currency, but every bit a voter’s ballot. The transparency of the scheme would non exclusively allow voters to verify that their private votes were counted correctly, but also allow citizens to deport an independent “audit [of] the ballot box” past times scanning the blockchain where all votes are cast. The scheme would also sport strong safety against both external cyber attacks too internal election fraud through the immutable too distributed ledger.
Finally, the concept of DAOs brought to us past times digital currencies has allowed us to reimagine the agency nosotros organize ourselves. H5N1 DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a distributed organisation governed past times distributed consensus too “smart contracts” — essentially programming logic executing too enforcing rules depending on the fulfillment of conditions. The first DAO was Bitcoin, “governed past times consensus amid its heart squad too its mining network,” amongst other DAOs right away existence launched over Ethereum to principle real-world businesses. Smart contracts essentially principle the DAO, amongst stakeholders democratically voting on issues across the decentralized blockchain network. The concept of the DAO has allowed us to reimagine human organizations, bringing what Ethereum calls “democracy on the blockchain.”
When our democratic governments were originally created, the might to communicate instantaneously amongst the entire basis was an unimaginable fantasy. So our predecessors designed systems of representative government, which were the well-nigh efficient solution to the job of representing millions of people inwards the human organisation that is a nation. However, every bit engineering changes, so produce our societies. Just every bit monastic enjoin was fundamentally changed past times electricity too the printing press, so also could the combined inventions of the mesh too the blockchain fundamentally alter our modern monastic enjoin too democratic institutions.
Perhaps, someday inwards the future, our centralized parliaments too representative institutions volition live replaced amongst a concept similar to a DAO, so that all citizens amongst a stake inwards the acre volition live empowered amongst objectively equal political power. Armed amongst the might of distributed communication technologies too governed past times consensus on a blockchain, our descendants could straight stand upward for themselves amongst their ain voices inwards the purest shape of republic always attained — a distributed, digital democracy.
The post service Op-Ed: How Blockchain Technology Can Revolutionize E-Democracy appeared initiative of all on Bitcoin Magazine.
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