1/ Is there a successor to nation-states? @balajis proposes the idea of a #networkstate powered by #crypto #web3 technologies. We shouldn't assume that nation-states are eternal

🧵This Twitter thread summarizes the @BanklessHQ podcast & should help to understand this novel idea

2/ Nation-States are only a few hundred years old after they replaced some form of monarchy in most areas. Do we need an alternative? @balajis argues that the post-world-war-era is ending & people try to hold on to a better past bc/ they lack a more positive vision of the future

3/ Movie Remakes & slogans that refer back to the past (great again, build back, etc.) are clear signals that we took the wrong turn somewhere in the past. We need to hit CTRL+Z, rewind, and correct a wrong turn by leaning on the shoulders of giants (existing histo. knowledge)

4/ We can rewind and reposition! Human progress is not a #scalar, it is a #vector! We can't just move back and forth but we can change directions to different outcomes. It is very important to learn from past mistakes and not reinvent the wheel every time.

5/ @balajis defines the following problem & solution statement:

• Problem: Heading towards US Anarchy and Chinese Control

• Solution: We need re-centralization on the other side with consensual regrouping around hubs → When people leave a burning house they regroup outside

6/ But what does regrouping mean? One possibility is the #NetworkState:

"A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states."

7/ A message board created a currency (#BTC) 14 years ago and governments started to react to it (CBDC, El Salvador, Kongo, etc.) If the question of the 2010s was "what is a currency" the question of the 2020s will be "what is a nation"

https://twitter.com/BanklessHQ/status/1557096261001498624

8/ Let's dive into 2 definitions to answer: What is a nation & what is a state?

• #Nation = Same etymological root as “natality.” It once denoted a group of people with shared ancestry

• #State = Refers to the entity that governs these people with a given monopoly of violence

9/ Not all should aim for a network state. @balajis describes 3 types:

1. Network Union (organized, purpose-driven, crypto-based, a new nation)

2. Network Archipelago (acquiring properties in the physical world)

3. Network State (all of the above + diplomatic recognition)

10/ You paused at the network #archipelago? It isn't as abstract as you think: Think access to #Google offices for employees around the world as a physical representation of a community or just groups temporarily materialize from the cloud for a meetup and then disappear again.

11/ The incentive to join a network state is that this could mark a new form of #Leviathan (defined by #Hobbes) that does not hold a sword but a carrot. It aims for an opt-in incentive rather than the sword (punish) that the most current states used to obtain Leviathan's power

12/ To close this thread I want to say this thought model of a #NetworkState from @balajis is highly interesting & only abstract because some of us think our current model did & will last forever. It won't. Not sure if the Network is a worthy #Leviathan successor.. but it could

1/ Is there a successor to nation-states? @balajis proposes the idea of a #networkstate powered by #crypto #web3 technologies. We shouldn't assume that nation-states are eternal

🧵This Twitter thread summarizes the @BanklessHQ podcast & should help to understand this novel idea

2/ Nation-States are only a few hundred years old after they replaced some form of monarchy in most areas. Do we need an alternative? @balajis argues that the post-world-war-era is ending & people try to hold on to a better past bc/ they lack a more positive vision of the future

3/ Movie Remakes & slogans that refer back to the past (great again, build back, etc.) are clear signals that we took the wrong turn somewhere in the past. We need to hit CTRL+Z, rewind, and correct a wrong turn by leaning on the shoulders of giants (existing histo. knowledge)

4/ We can rewind and reposition! Human progress is not a #scalar, it is a #vector! We can't just move back and forth but we can change directions to different outcomes. It is very important to learn from past mistakes and not reinvent the wheel every time.

5/ @balajis defines the following problem & solution statement:

• Problem: Heading towards US Anarchy and Chinese Control

• Solution: We need re-centralization on the other side with consensual regrouping around hubs → When people leave a burning house they regroup outside

6/ But what does regrouping mean? One possibility is the #NetworkState:

"A network state is a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states."

7/ A message board created a currency (#BTC) 14 years ago and governments started to react to it (CBDC, El Salvador, Kongo, etc.) If the question of the 2010s was "what is a currency" the question of the 2020s will be "what is a nation"

https://twitter.com/BanklessHQ/status/1557096261001498624

8/ Let's dive into 2 definitions to answer: What is a nation & what is a state?

• #Nation = Same etymological root as “natality.” It once denoted a group of people with shared ancestry

• #State = Refers to the entity that governs these people with a given monopoly of violence

9/ Not all should aim for a network state. @balajis describes 3 types:

1. Network Union (organized, purpose-driven, crypto-based, a new nation)

2. Network Archipelago (acquiring properties in the physical world)

3. Network State (all of the above + diplomatic recognition)

10/ You paused at the network #archipelago? It isn't as abstract as you think: Think access to #Google offices for employees around the world as a physical representation of a community or just groups temporarily materialize from the cloud for a meetup and then disappear again.

11/ The incentive to join a network state is that this could mark a new form of #Leviathan (defined by #Hobbes) that does not hold a sword but a carrot. It aims for an opt-in incentive rather than the sword (punish) that the most current states used to obtain Leviathan's power

12/ To close this thread I want to say this thought model of a #NetworkState from @balajis is highly interesting & only abstract because some of us think our current model did & will last forever. It won't. Not sure if the Network is a worthy #Leviathan successor.. but it could