Overview of the ‘Block Chain’ System
If natural selection optimizes for efficiency 1 and entropy in the universe is ever-increasing2, there will be a trade-off between the order of a social structure and the freedom of its interacting agents. A social system constrains individual freedom according to the limitation of agentic inter-connectivity 3. For example, when we rely on market transactions to exchange (integrate) specialized productions (divided labor), we give power to intermediaries (firms, government, communities) to fill in the gap in inter-connectivity (in which intermediaries connect with unconnected participants). However, when everyone is connected with everyone else, we don’t need to rely on intermediaries to maintain order.
The full connectivity creates a new social structure. As social structure serves as the medium for agency, the new social structure will enable us to achieve what’s impossible in the past 4. Because all participants are interconnected with one another, the entire system prevents a central intermediary from manipulating the flow of information. As there is no information asymmetry, ownership contracts will be secured (automatically verified) and transparent 5.
Free from information brokerage and the need for trusted third-parties to secure transactions, the ownership contracts associated with any virtual usage or value can facilitate transactive collaborations among autonomous agents. The costs (and needs) for trust or order are eliminated at the system level across the fully connected peer-to-peer network. The efficiency gain created by specialization (by division of labor and separation of tasks) is no longer bounded by the extent of market exchange for integrating unconnected agents. System integration will directly derive from the complete inter-connectivity to enhance system-wide wealth.
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