Property rights locks up a decentralized movement

One of the most effective ways to neutralize a decentralized network is to introduce ownership of a scarce resource into the network. For decades, the Apaches (a decentralized network led by a plurality of catalyst leaders call Nant’ans) resisted the encroachment of the American settlers. What was it that finally broke their society?

Here’s what broke Apache society: the Americans gave the Nant’ans cattle. It was that simple. Once the Nant’ans had possession of a scarce resource—cows—their power shifted from symbolic to material. Where previously, the Nant’ans had led by example, now they could reward and punish tribe members by giving and withholding this resource.^[1]

Once people “gain a right to property, be it cows or book royalties, they quickly seek out a centralized system to protect their interests. It’s why we want our banks to be centralized. We want control, we want structure, we want reporting when it comes to our money.”^[2] Property rights is one of the fastest ways to shift a circle from cooperative to competitive and turn a Catalyst into a CEO “stewarding” the assets of an institution.

The moment you introduce property rights into the equation, everything changes: the starfish organization turns into a spider. If you really want to centralize an organization, hand property rights to the catalyst and tell him to distribute resources as he sees fit. With power over property rights, the catalyst turns into a CEO and circles become competitive.^[3]

#decentralization #ipr