Primavera De Filippi on the Critique of the Network State Concept of Balaji Srivanasan

Podcast via https://theblockchainsocialist.com/overthrowing-the-network-state-an-initial-critique-and-alternatives/

Description

The Blockchain Socialist:

"In the first episode of our series ‘Overthrowing the Network State’ (OTNS), we dive into the world of Balaji Srinivasan’s recent book The Network State. The purpose of this series is to critique The Network State while also pulling out the salvageable parts and concepts in discussion with a variety of guests. We are overall critical of Balaji’s specific ideas in the book, but we want to discuss it with intellectual honesty and highlight the larger concepts around how these technologies are and could subvert state structures.

For this episode I’m joined by Primavera De Filippi (@yaoeo), a long time researcher on blockchain and the director of Blockchaingov as a co-host. We give a brief overview of who Balaji Srinivasan is, some of the main concepts in his book, our initial criticisms, and some alternative book recommendations. By OTNS we don’t want to only provide critique, but we want to provide a very different conceptual framework that answers why people people seem to be tapping into the book. For us this is about exit-based governance (lack of politics with an idealistic view of autonomy ) vs. commons-based governance (which recognizes the inherent ‘interdependence’ of the world and global society).

Blockchaingov is a 5-year long, transdisciplinary research effort aimed at restoring trust in institutions at the community and global levels, by promoting better on chain and off chain distributed governance practices. Throughout the series, each discussion will include me and a member of Blockchaingov with either a new guest each episode or just a discussion between us to tackle various topics from the book."

Summary

Summary of transcript:

1.

"The Network State approach presents a major problem as Balaji Srinivasan believes that owning land is sufficient to impose any rules on it. However, according to Wikipedia, "A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory." Therefore, owning land on a territory already governed by a state does not give the landlord the right to escape the state's rules and establish their own.

Moreover, simply declaring oneself a state by hoisting a flag on a piece of land is not enough to be recognized as such. Other states must give it a certain legitimacy. Attempting to seize a part of an existing state, imposing one's laws on it, and bypassing the former will not aid in achieving recognition.

In his book, Srinivasan defines the governance structure of this state as "exit-based governance." Based on the forking concept, if a person or group disagrees with the dominant group in the Network State, they can fork and create their own Network State. This exit-based governance is authoritarian as the founder sets the rules, and one must agree to stay in NS.

BioShock comparison: The Blockchain Socialist makes an interesting comparison between the book and the game BioShock. It is a video game where the player embodies someone exploring an abandoned city underwater. Along the game, the player discovers this place was built in the 50s by a billionaire named Andrew Ryan because he wanted to exit existing laws and regulations. Thus, the city, called “Rapture,” was governed under an ultra Capitalism system but seemed to have collapsed after people tried to go on strike and escape. This game criticizes the philosophical system theorized by Ayn Rand in the 50s, called Objectivism. Objectivism is about Rational Egoism, which means that a man should always focus on his happiness above all. In practice, it leads to a society with no social aids, no religion, and no interventionism.

Finally, The Blockchain Socialist said, "BioShock could be seen as a Network State manifestation.”

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2.

"In a time of eroding trust in institutions and prevailing societal models, people are seeking solutions to governance challenges, and this is why this book is receiving so much attention. The BlockchainGov Vision aims to address this by exploring how institutions can utilize blockchain technology to foster better collaboration and governance among stakeholders. Unlike the Network State and its exit-based governance, we advocate for a commons-based governance approach, which we refer to as CoordiNATIONS.

We believe cooperation is more effective in building robust systems than competition, and we prioritize interdependence over independence. Choosing exit governance leads to creating separate states competing, which is not a novel concept. CoordiNATIONS, on the other hand, adopts commons-based governance and acknowledges the importance of independence and interconnectivity. Since establishing a state is technically challenging, we have opted for "nation," which denotes a collective that comes together around shared resources and a distinct identity. This allows it to coexist as an overlay on top of an existing state or nation without engaging in competition and emphasizes cultural values and principles instead of evading established laws.

To learn more, check out Primavera de Filippi's talk "From Competition to Cooperation: Blockchains as a Catalyst for CoordiNATION": https://www.youtube.com/live/RyObAHv777E?feature=share&t=25565."

See: Primavera de Filippi on the CoordiNATION as Alternative to the Network State Model

More information

• series ‘Overthrowing the Network State’ (OTNS)