Anarchy, Blockchain and Utopia: A Theory of Political-Socioeconomic Systems Organised using Blockchain

Abstract

Blockchain technology makes it more feasible for individuals to Exit political-socioeconomic systems at the level of the system itself and elect to accede freely to institutional systems which formulate, promulgate, keep and verify institutions and public records without a centralised authority. This essay investigates the dynamics of such a society in which political-socioeconomic systems may be organised using Blockchain technology. We propose a theory of society as an evolutionary system in which the unit of selection is the institutional system associated with a particular Blockchain or the State and selection pressures are applied by individuals deciding to interact within them and have their interactions entered into the public record. We establish the conditions under which institutions will be selected by considering the limits to substitutability and discover that any institutional system must meet requirements and provide sufficient complimentarities in order to be selected and retained by the evolutionary process.

Keywords: Blockchain, technology, institutions, anarchy, evolution, psychology

JEL Classification: D02, D71, H11, P16, P48, P50