Divided We Fail: The Irrational Insanity of Crypto Tribalism

Distributed computing can change the world for good, if we get out of our own way

Credit: U.S. Army via flickr/CC BY 2.0

Let’s start with a simple and powerful premise: distributed computing has the potential to make the world a better and freer place.

Can this fast-evolving technology actually fulfill that grand promise? While early indicators are good, we also face a mortal enemy: ourselves.

That’s borderline tragic, because there are plenty of problems to solve. Consider these headlines from the last few weeks:

• The U.S. added $1 trillion in debt in six months, and the total debt now stands at $21 trillion
• Buckling under ham-fisted legislation designed to limit online sex trafficking, Craigslist has removed the ability for users to freely communicate with one another via personal ads, while Backpage was just shut down by the FBI
• The U.S. has taken a protectionist turn, initiating a trade war with China and limiting the ability for goods to freely cross borders
• Revelations of Facebook leaking data on millions of users, mirroring last year’s Equifax data breach
• The U.S. CLOUD act has provided a new and novel way for the United States government to…