Interesting discussion and article. My work is mostly in the decentralized model of thinking. Many of the arguments assume that some degree of control is necessary at the scale we deal with. The difficulty of true decentralization reminds me of what the founders of our republic wrestled with: avoiding both the over-control of old hierarchies and governing structures (centralized power) and the chaos of anarchy (decentralized power). Their answer was a framework that limited power but preserved individual freedom. Perfection? no. But it is a very interesting experiment to be a part of.

We seem to be facing a similar balance today, only in digital context and on a global scale. Human nature being what it is, no system will ever be perfect. What we can do is build safeguards (structures that empower users and raise the cost of abuse) so that bad actors must find diminishing returns for bad behavior.