Can blockchain be a solution to the state’s deepening legitimacy problem?

“Some things are easier to legalize than to legitimate.”
― Nicolas Chamfort

State: The officially recognized and sovereign power of a country. The government is the structure that undertakes the management of the state for a certain period of time. However, these two concepts are often used interchangeably. While people tend to view government as the state itself, in reality governments are temporary and derive their legitimacy from citizens.

The reason why we give this temporary legitimacy to governments is that they manage many important areas such as legislature, executive and economy outside of central governments. However, governments often fail in this task.

In the past, even 20 years ago, there wasn't much we could do to solve this problem. The most logical solution was governments where the people provided legitimacy for a certain period of time.

Blockchain technology will enable all people to participate in management, not artificial intelligence to manage people. Direct democracies that existed in ancient Greece are coming again!

But now the legitimacy of governments is in danger. Millions of people are taking to the streets, disturbed by the decision taken by their governments. To those looking from a distance, these people may seem like a group of anarchists. But shouldn't important decisions really be put to the public? Especially for things that will personally impact their lives.

Until a few years ago, involving people in management was very costly and expensive due to physical difficulties. But not anymore.

No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.

Joseph Addison

Blockchain Technology!

Transparent and Secure Infrastructures:

Blockchain technology can make the functioning of governments more transparent by providing a transparent and secure infrastructure. Recording all transactions on a chain ensures that anyone can view them, making it easier to monitor and audit government decisions.

Fair and Secure Elections:

Blockchain can make election processes fairer and more secure. It can be used to record and count votes, preventing manipulation of election results and ensuring that the will of the people is accurately reflected.

Secure Property Records:

Storing property records on blockchain can ensure the security of property rights. In this way, it may be possible to reduce property-related disputes and protect the rights of property owners.

Effective Management Processes:

Blockchain can help manage resources more effectively by making management processes more efficient. Thanks to smart contracts, transactions are automated and budget management can be better monitored and controlled.

Conclusion:

With developing technology, citizens have become able to participate directly in government without the need for intermediaries. In the past, this was not possible because some decisions had to be made centrally for physical reasons. However, this physical barrier has now disappeared.

We can vote on an important bill with a simple link sent to our personal phone. Right now, we have to choose someone to vote on our behalf, but why should we give our rights to someone else when we can do it ourselves?

States receive taxes for the infrastructure and security services they provide to their citizens. Most of this tax goes to the salaries of administrative staff or giant buildings. Infrastructure falls behind even the extreme security needs of states. And citizens can't keep track of their taxes, they just have to pay them. And this has no legitimacy. Legal but not legitimate.

Finally, the potential of blockchain technology is great, and in the future it may be possible for more states to be governed in a more transparent and accountable manner using this technology. In this way, public trust can be increased and democratic processes can be strengthened.

The people alive now are the children of people who chose to settle and change their lifestyle during the agricultural revolution thousands of years ago. We don't know what happened to those who refused to settle, because it was the settlers who founded civilization. We made many mistakes, but very few people are responsible for these mistakes. The vast majority of us were slaves for thousands of years. And now a choice awaits humanity again. Transparent rules or laws of the jungle?