Bitcoin for Beginners Playlist: Intro to Bitcoin, Satoshi, Security, Mining and More - Bitcoin Q&A: Is Bitcoin a Democracy?

The intersection between blockchains and democracy. "Democracy" is a loaded word where people project a lot of things. Democracy without restraints (human rights, civil rights, constitutional protections) is a brutal system. I don't think Bitcoin is a democracy - rather it is a flat, network-based, collaborative system of super-majority consensus among five constituencies (users, developers, exchanges, merchants, miners), which makes change very difficult. It is a radical decentralization of power. Some people call the politics of this system "cypherpunk," "crypto-anarchy," and other words we don't yet have. Bitcoin and open public blockchains are redefining political systems, organisational systems, freedom of speech, and freedom of association on a transnational basis. Democracies today are systems of hierarchical institutions born out of the era of industrialisation. It doesn't scale any more. We have the ability to produce enough food and energy for everyone, but we just can't distribute it. What is the structure of consensus? The different constituencies of the ecosystem. Coalitions, influencers, and pundits. Noise doesn't change the consensus rules. Talk is cheap but real changes play out between live participating nodes on a network protocol with game theory economic incentives overriding everything else. You can be right or you can be wrong, but if you break consensus you'll be poor either way. People may signal they want one thing, but execute something else, holding on until they start losing money. Chapters: 0:00 Your thoughts on democracy and then the intersection between blockchain and democracy, and then democracy on a blockchain 3:01 Democracy mostly in developed worlds today, is a system of hierarchical and institutional organizational principles that was born out of the era of industrialization in the 18th and 19th century. It does not scale anymore 3:55 You talked about the different constituencies within the ecosystem and about the fact that the consensus on forks is formed by groups. Is it really distribution? Or are there coalition's that are able to force a consensus? What is the structure of a consensus if you look within at the level of those two consistencies? This is part of a talk which took place on June 6th 2017 at a joint meet-up with Blockchain Professionals, BitcoinSYD and SydEthereum in Sydney, Australia: https://antonopoulos.com/event/blockchain-professionals-sydney/ Watch the full talk here: https://youtu.be/rpeceXY1QBM RELATED: Hard Promises, Soft Promises: Promoting Autonomy instead of Authority - https://youtu.be/UJSdMFPjW8c Forkology: A Study of Forks for Newbies - https://youtu.be/rpeceXY1QBM The Consensus Balance of Power - https://youtu.be/q6NbTB1af88 Ethereum, ICOs, and Rocket Science - https://youtu.be/OWI5-AVndgk Governance trade-offs in decentralised systems - https://youtu.be/dtwaW79Fj7c What is the role of nodes? - https://youtu.be/fNk7nYxTOyQ Politics and counter-economics - https://youtu.be/t0NyxRftGBo Fee markets, SegWit, and scaling - https://youtu.be/zxt-FLzZPhg Unstoppable code - https://youtu.be/AQx3E3F8Kz4 Hardware, Software, Trustware - https://youtu.be/Etyjc1JdmFU Decentralised immunity from state-sponsored attacks - https://youtu.be/ZBuHOGufW14 A voluntary alternative to mandatory currencies - https://youtu.be/5ogv3Eya9nQ Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in bitcoin. Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop Website: https://antonopoulos.com/ He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters. THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042 [NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388 Subscribe to the channel to learn more about Bitcoin & open blockchains! If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in a monthly LIVE Q&A with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop Music: "Unbounded" by Orfan (https://www.facebook.com/Orfan/) Outro Graphics: Phneep (http://www.phneep.com/) Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (http://www.rockincomics.com.br/) Join the aantonop Channel: https://aantonop.io/joinaantonopyt