Blockchain: An Entangled Political Economy Approach

Allen, DWE, Berg, C and Novak, M (2018) ‘Blockchain: An Entangled Political Economy Approach’, Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 105-125.

26 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2018 Last revised: 3 Aug 2019

See all articles by Darcy W E Allen

Darcy W E Allen

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Chris Berg

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University)

Mikayla Novak

George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: April 9, 2018

Abstract

This paper incorporates blockchain activities into the broader remit of entangled political economy theory, emphasising economic and other social phenomena as the emergent by-product of human interactions. Blockchains are a digital technology combining peer-to-peer network computing and cryptography to create an immutable decentralised public ledger. The blockchain contrasts vintage ledger technologies, either paper-based or maintained by in-house databases, largely reliant upon hierarchical, third-party trust mechanisms for their maintenance and security. Recent contributions to the blockchain studies literature suggest that the blockchain itself poses as an institutional technology that could challenge existing forms of coordination and governance organised on the basis of vintage ledgers. This proposition has significant implications for the relevance of existing entangled relationships in the economic, social and political domains. Blockchain enables non-territorial “crypto-secession” not only reducing the costs associated with maintaining ledgers, but radically revising and de-concentrating data-conditioned networks to fundamentally challenge the economic positions of legacy firms and governments. These insights are further illuminated with reference to finance, property and identity cases. Entangled political economy provides a compelling lens through which we can discern the impact of blockchain technology on some of our most important relationships.

Keywords: Blockchain, Finance, Entangled Political Economy, Identity, Property, Trust

JEL Classification: D02, L17, O35, P16, P40, P50

Suggested Citation

Allen, Darcy W E and Berg, Chris and Novak, Mikayla, Blockchain: An Entangled Political Economy Approach (April 9, 2018). Allen, DWE, Berg, C and Novak, M (2018) ‘Blockchain: An Entangled Political Economy Approach’, Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 105-125. , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3158805 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3158805

Darcy W E Allen

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Chris Berg (Contact Author)

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technolog (RMIT University) ( email )

124 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, 3000
Australia

Mikayla Novak

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

3434 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

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