Often regarded as the next internet, the blockchain technology is set to disrupt the way businesses are done and how records are kept. For the first time in human history, the blockchain technology has eliminated trust, bringing transparency into financial transactions.
On top of that, the blockchain technology is well known for decentralization, taking away ownership and control of information from the hands of a central authority and giving same to the masses or other elected representatives. Wonderful.
One beautiful thing about decentralization is that it creates a feeling of security and safety in the minds of those interacting with hitherto centralized products. A good example is the use of Bitcoin as either a store of value or a medium of exchange. In both cases, the user feels protected from.the peering eyes of regulatory bodies who have a reputation of intruding the privacy of citizens.
The same can be said of a person who prefers to use Steemit instead of Facebook. The former platform is built on the Steem blockchain and thus decentralized and allays the fear of data and privacy violation that have become characteristic of Facebook, especially after it was implicated in the Cambridge Analytical scandal.
As innovative as the blockchain technology appears to be, there are still those who believe that decentralization, which is one of its key features, will result to anarchy - a state of lawlessness and complete breakdown of social order. The fear is that the blockchain of things will result to decentralization, kick out the central authorities, and leave nobody in charge. If everybody is in charge, the skeptics believe, nobody is in charge - hence, anarchy.
If the matter is carefully examined, however, one can easily point out that decentralization will not result to anarchy as long as we still have some elected or delegated authorities to act within the decentralization. How do I mean? The Bitcoin blockchain, for instance, is maintainer by the miners who produce blocks and ensure consensus. As long as everyone is not and cannot be a miner, the Bitcoin blockchain will not result to anarchy.
The same thing goes for Steem. The Steem blockchain has elected witnesses that produce blocks and run the nodes with Steemit Inc at the top hierarchy. As long as everyone on the Steem blockchain are not witnesses, Steem cannot result to anarchy because there will be internal laws in place to prevent anarchy.
I will conclude by saying that the kind of decentralization that will come with the blockchain technology will still reserve some powers in the hands of certain individuals or corporations who will act on behalf of the rest of us. And as long as we have such a system in place, those who predict anarchy will most likely be wrong.