Blockchain to unleash the power of democracy

Blockchain is in limelight right now and everybody is going nuts about the technology. It could change the internet the way it is and the way we use it –for the better. We have already seen how bitcoin has revolutionized money, financial transactions and banking, as we know it. Blockchain is a collaborative network where participants can transfer value without the need of a trusted intermediary. For e.g. bitcoin- which enables value transfer without the need of a bank to ensure trust and fair play. So is Blockchain all about disintermediation? The answer is Blockchain is about decentralization- where no one party controls the information but the information is rather distributed and available with each participant of the network. Disintermediation is only the byproduct of decentralization and the factors that enable information being consistent across all participants in the Blockchain network. This is precisely why we say Blockchain is not a panacea and is has its own areas of application. We cannot solve every problem by distributing the same information across everybody. However, the one area that will tremendously benefit from decentralization, for sure, is democracies- yes, governments.
Most of the information pertaining to governance is supposed to be public in nature so that the citizens can access and use it for empowering democracy. However, because of technology limitations, fragmented information systems, lack of strong will and possible politics of governance, the citizen and the government alike do not have access to consistent information on governance. This is the reason why everyone should look up to Blockchain- to “truly democratize” today’s democracies. Making available consistent information across all stakeholders will bring in, along with a lot of transparency, accountability, reduction in corruption and more efficiency into the system.
Let us discuss the case of land Records. In most countries, the land title registration and record keeping reels with data discrepancies that occur due to information stored and used by multiple government departments. The absence of a single point of truth as a reference for the land title information and the lack of transparency makes it an area where a lot of disputes and corruption happening. Blockchain can create a single point of truth for all land records- which can remove the current inefficiencies that are caused due to the fragmented information systems, provide a ledger of all assets and transactions of all time, which can reduce and quicken any disputes that may occur.
Public spending is another area that is more of a black box to the citizens. There is no way anyone can verify manipulations in public spending information-even if available, have access to the information that will affect them in any manner and absolutely no information on where there tax money goes. Public spending should ideally be transparent and citizens should be able to see how much of claimed budget is spend on promised activities, the related details, and all the necessary proofs that are supposed to be of public nature associated to it. For Instance, when the public working department decides to build a road; the estimate, the sanctions, the associated documents, bid details, how much of the estimated amount has been spend and on what should be available to the general public due to the inherent nature of the scenario. The same is true with all sorts of information that is or should be public in nature like health, education, environment, corporate compliances etc.

Bringing public spending information on Blockchain would provide the necessary transparency to enable social auditing, which can create accountability, reduce nepotism and corruption that is rampant in the public spending area. That kind of a shift in the way we have access to consistent information on governance should be what any democracy be looking at as the way forward.
Another area, which Blockchain can revolutionize, is in gathering public opinion. Blockchain could power sovereign digital identity that can help people control, secure and protect their identity and thwart corruption. Blockchain success stories already include issuing national identities in Estonia and to refugees in middle-east and Africa. Countless start-ups are working in the space along with big corporations such as Microsoft. These advancements in the digital identity space would bring in an era of sovereign identity, which can change the way we participate in public referenda. Incorruptible Sovereign identities can open up new possibilities in gathering public opinion and consensus that can truly help democracies and governance.
Opening up all information using Blockchain would take away the power from the authorities and put it back to where it belongs- the people. This is the next phase for the humankind, which is ever evolving and to the better, to reclaim what democracy has promised and never delivered- taking power back to the people. Significant and groundbreaking efforts are happening across the world pertaining to the technology as people are slowly realizing its potential. I believe that the world will not only witness the industry 4.0 but also democracy 2.0 with Blockchain.