During the Bankless podcast, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discussed with economist Noah Smith the "effectiveness" of authoritarian regimes after the advent of the Internet and blockchain technologies.
Smith first stated that liberal democracies have historically succeeded in aggregating information through markets, elections, and public discourse. However, the Internet's ability to centralize huge amounts of data potentially reduces this advantage.
Moreover, the worldwide network promotes anarchy by facilitating the spread of disinformation, he believes.
Buterin develops this theme by comparing the information landscape with Thomas Hobbes's concept of a "war of all against all", in which social balance is achieved only with the monopoly control of the public narrative.
Smith and the Ethereum developer then discussed the counterarguments. The first drew a parallel with the printing press, which reduced the cost of information and led to increased liberalism and fragmentation of society, rather than authoritarian domination. He also wondered why the Internet is not moving along a similar trajectory.
In his opinion, this situation is associated with "non-linearity": while the cost of data transmission has approached zero, the cost of information warfare has increased exponentially.
Buterin considered the differences between the digital world and the real one in terms of defense mechanisms.
Cyber security systems like encryption and decentralized platforms offer a high degree of protection that has no physical analogues, which implies a natural resistance to control in the digital sphere, the programmer believes.
In addition, Buterin noted the fragmentation of the Internet into smaller and more specialized communities, which to a certain extent protect themselves from misinformation. These separated spaces often support "a higher quality of discourse compared to large chaotic platforms" like the social network X.
"Twitter is the worst of what you see, and the worst precisely because you can see it from the right angle if you think about private group chats, for example," the developer added.
Smith raised the question of whether blockchain can "provide secure communication between citizens of authoritarian states like China and Russia."
As an example, Buterin recalled the technology of the Kiev-based company Rarimo called Freedom tool based on zero-disclosure evidence (ZKP), which allows anonymous participation in online voting.
The Ethereum co-founder acknowledged that such solutions may not be needed in liberal countries, but in authoritarian regimes they help preserve the privacy of citizens by providing a safe space for dialogue.
Earlier, Buterin listed ways to use cryptocurrencies in everyday life. In particular, he suggested using ZKP mechanisms to verify "identity, credentials or reputation."
Recall that in May, the developer named five architectural solutions of the Ethereum blockchain, which he would like to change if possible.