The world is broken, there is no doubt about that. From the political upheavals in so many places, to long standing wars devastating the homelands of hundreds of thousands, to the impending climate disaster already making it's effects known, the systems that help run the world are in disarray. In the history of the world, political solutions have been the answer to the ills of the world. But for the first time, solutions founded on an advancement on technology could prove to be a way of putting the broken pieces back together into a new functioning system.
The blockchains are already tackling many of the basic problems of the world. Poverty is rampant in every corner of the globe. It's not limited to just underdeveloped countries, it's hitting places like Venezuela, where massive numbers of citizens are fleeing to better opportunities in neighboring countries. In the U.S. children go hungry on a daily basis and the homeless crowd streets and shelters. In many parts of the world, workers toil for wages that haven't risen in years, while the cost of food, shelter and clothing has risen often by double digits.
But apps on the blockchain offer hope for the under and unemployed struggling to make ends meet. Steemit, Ono, Steepshot, Musing, Dtube, Dlive to name just a few, trade votes on content for coin tokens that can be traded in for cryptocurrency. This becomes a perfect vehicle for both wages and investment. Produce a video, live stream, blog post or social media stream that attracts viewers and readers who show their appreciation of that content with a vote. Each vote is "worth" a certain amount of tokens. These tokens are then traded in for the cryptocurrency of your choice.
The capitalist system of "the better and harder you work, the more you make" is coupled with an investment incentive. Since cryptocurrency rises and falls, the creator can leave their earnings in the market, where they can rise and fall as the crypto market does it's daily dance of the numbers. Or, they can withdraw their earnings to make ends meet and improve their life style. The blockchain has created a new way out of poverty and perhaps even a road to wealth accumulation.
Let's look at climate change. There are startups on the blockchain like GEAR, [Veridium] (https://www.veridium.io/), and Lition to name just a few, tackling how we use energy and how we can replace fossil fuels with green energy in a more efficient manner. From Lition's peer to peer green energy solutions to the Nextpakk blockchain based parcel delivery system, energy needs are being tackled by a wide array of blockchain based companies with an eye on saving and improving our ecosystem.
War - now that's a multi-faceted issue that creates even more global problems. All wars have three things in common - they're the result of political maneuvering, they always have an economic reason for being that is buried somewhere in the lofty language of ideals, and they create refugees, as ordinary people flee their homes seeking safety and stability for themselves and their families.
For a look at how the blockchain is being used in refugee camps, check out this article from the MIT Technology Review. Other blockchain startups such as Bitnation are helping refugees put an immutable identity on the blockchain that can be recognized worldwide. A global identification system is a basic human right. As one refugee puts it
“Without an ID, we quickly become marginalized from modern life and the safety nets of society. Our existence is not accounted for, our needs are not met, we have no access to financial services or economic opportunities.”
The economic factors that underpin wars is a bit tougher. There will always be greedy people who come to power with their prime directive being to grab more wealth for themselves and their cronies. But the blockchain can help prevent their rise to power in two ways.
Many of these leaders are voted into office. Grassroots movements have proven effective at educating voters and raising turnout levels. The blockchain excels at fostering these movements, and providing a platform for their voices. Using social platforms that pay with votes and tokens also gives them a funding vehicle for their efforts.
At the same time, desperate people support war. Those with a full stomach and a secure roof over their heads aren't usually too keen to have bombs dropping on those homes. With the ability of cryptocurrency and the blockchain opportunities to create additional income for people around the planet, the numbers of desperate people could drop, making the idea of waging war to improve life a much more difficult "sell".
Ideological wars waged over "otherness" became more difficult to gain followers with the advent of global social interactions both on the blockchain and on conventional internet sites. Fear of "others" is based on lack of knowledge. When you have had direct interaction with those "others" and learned firsthand that they are not quite the way they might be depicted in speeches, it's hard to gin up hatred and fear.
While it might sound rather odd to say that a disruptive engine like the blockchain can fix a broken world, it is possible. The sheer numbers of fresh new minds seeking solutions to age old problems and using the power of the blockchain to accomplish those solutions is creating an energy felt round the world. Only time will tell if that energy will be enough to heal the rifts in the economy, the political structure and the very fabric of our planet, but today, as we usher in a new year, there is a glimmer of hope because of blockchain tech.
All images courtesy of Pixabay