How Vitalik Buterin’s pluralistic vision could reshape blockchain governance

While Buterin believes pluralistic philosophy can enhance existing systems, he acknowledges that it cannot replace them.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has expressed optimism about the application of pluralistic philosophy in various social and technological settings. 

Buterin explained how different ideas can be used to improve cooperation and decision-making in areas such as blockchain, social media and local government.

According to a 2022 essay “Why I Am A Pluralist” by Glen Weyl, plurality is a social philosophy that recognizes and fosters the flourishing of and cooperation between a diversity of sociocultural groups or systems.

Buterin’s advocacy for these ideas is not just theoretical; he believes that real-world experimentation in these areas could yield significant benefits, enhancing autonomy, fostering collaboration and minimizing polarization.

Blockchain ecosystems

His enthusiasm for applying this philosophy to blockchain ecosystems is deeply rooted in the decentralized nature of blockchain technology itself. 

He highlighted the potential of pluralistic mechanisms to address critical issues within blockchain communities, such as collusion and competitive pressures. For instance, the Ethereum ecosystem already employs quadratic and retroactive funding mechanisms to support public goods. 

However, these mechanisms are not perfect and have their vulnerabilities, particularly if participants collude. Pluralistic ideas, according to Buterin, could help mitigate these risks by subsidizing collaboration between different parts of the ecosystem, such as layer-2 scaling platforms and crypto wallets, which might otherwise be incentivized to act competitively.

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This approach aligns with Buterin’s broader vision for blockchain as a space where diverse actors can collaborate more effectively without succumbing to the pressures of centralization. By implementing pluralistic mechanisms, blockchain ecosystems could maintain their decentralized ethos while improving governance and resource allocation.

Buterin’s impact on blockchain and DeFi

Buterin has been highly active in addressing blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi) issues, often offering solutions to many of them.

In 2023, Buterin and researchers from Cornell University studied how to stop a major problem facing decentralized systems: attacks using bribes in smart contracts.

In July, Ethereum developers introduced a new Ethereum improvement proposal, EIP-7732, which aimed to overhaul the block validation process and speed up the blockchain following the Ethereum co-founder’s push for faster transaction confirmation times.

September 2022 saw Ethereum successfully shift to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and adopt a layer-2-centric approach to scaling the network’s base layer. Hardware-based miners were replaced by validators that stake Ether (ETH) to process transactions, add new blocks and maintain the network.

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