Change is thermodynamically inevitable. This is entropy.
We cannot prevent change. We can only choose how to deal with it.
Fundamentalism and Advancementism
We have only ever chosen to deal with change in two foundational approaches: fundamentalism and advancementism.
In contact with an undesirable state, advancementists are biased towards moving forward to a more desirable state. Technologists, agents of change and subjects of the great man theory are all advancementists. Every bit of progress that humanity has ever undergone, by definition has been through advancement.
Fundamentalists on the other hand, react to an undesirable state with the tendency to resort back to an idealized fragment of the past, to times when supposedly things were much better. This is of course a mere illusion. It is thermodynamically impossible to reverse entropy and none of the movements who have appealed to the mirage of this glorious past have been able to restore it.
These two camps approach problems in structurally different ways and every single movement in human history can be categorized in these two camps.
As given by the name, religious fundamentalists like ISIS and Al Qaeda often quite literally promised a return to the times of prophet Mohammad to their zealots. Though, they can never deliver.
When confronted with problems like the climate change, the fundamentalists tend to respond with policies to slow down the factors. Whereas advancementists tend to resort to accelerating the rate of technological development towards renewable and remediation technologies. This is the showdown between Gretta and Elon.
The latest showdown between the two camps that might be present in the reader’s mind is in regards to AI, between Effective Acceleration (e/acc) and AI Safety.
Warpcast NIMBYism and Web3 Values
In a little corner of the web3 world, we’re also about to witness a showdown of these two camps on Farcaster. Farcaster’s recent growth is about an order of magnitude. Although contextually insignificant, this is a very pronounced and impactful magnitude locally. There are a lot of new users and the dynamics are changing.
Users who were active on the platform prior to the recent growth phase — myself included — have felt the effects of this change, most not to their liking. The platform’s growth had previously been intentionally slowed down and approached in a curated manner which had resulted in a tight-knit group of likeminded users who had bonded over time.
But of course, a gated and curated web3 social network is an oxymoron. A social network by definition requires scale. And web3, by design optimizes for permissionlessness. And of course, slowing down entropy is not a free lunch and is only possible if entropy at another locality is increased — in our case, this was a built up momentum for a wave of new users to enter the platform. Furthermore, a web3 social network is not just permissionless in account creation and messages. It is permissionless on all fronts, including web3’s original sin: incentives.
In a hodgepodge of new users in search of airdrops, influencers in search of followers and, incentive mechanisms in search of PMF, we have ended up in a world very different than a few months ago. Amongst this, the old user base will fall into two camps — the only two ways that humans have ever dealt with change — fundamentalism and advancementism. Most of us will be advancementists, biased to shape a future to our liking. Some of us will be tempted to resort to fundamentalism, a mirage for returning to the ‘good old days’.
If you are finding yourself gravitating towards fundamentalism, my plea is that you reconsider. Fundamentalism will not help. It never has. Fundamentalism is a zealot mirage.
Here is my message to the fundamentalists:
The totality of the network will never feel like 6 months ago. Networks grow like organic matter but web3 networks do not force you to grow in tandem with them. If you crave the Warpcast of 6 months ago, exit from today’s Warpcast and build your own State of the Network — this is the whole reason why we are here in web3. This is not a bug. This is THE feature.
You have the tools to optimize for your own community’s future and vibes. If you do build a magical gathering of the old friends, know that I’ll be there. But do not expect all gatherings to adhere to your rules. Warpcast is not your backyard so, don’t expect Merkle to support your NIMBYism. Merkle has a fiduciary responsibility to its share holders to drive value. But this is web3, and if you have different values, you can certainly advance towards them permissionlessly.
Here is my message to the advancementists:
The game has changed. The tools have changed and you have decided to embrace the tools. You have decided that you will shape the future to your will. This is web3. You are in the arena. You are empowered to build your own local ideal.
You are not in search of the past. You are longing for the future.
