Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a comprehensive new blog post on Tuesday titled “Balance of Power.” This post provides a critical analysis of the converging threats posed by “big business,” “big government,” and the “big mob.”
there are no checks and balances
Buterin argues that the checks and balances that have historically kept social forces in check are no longer working. They eventually collapsed during the 21st century.
Citing rapid technological advances and automation, the Canadian genius argued that economies of scale have allowed powerful actors to tighten control at an unprecedented pace.
The solution he proposed is a concept he calls “forced diffusion.” This strategy boils down to forcing openness and interoperability into closed systems.
Buterin characterizes modern times as a “jungle forest.” The main drivers of progress have become sources of fear.
He argues that government needs to act as a neutral playing field, rather than active participants picking winners.
At the same time, Buterin also noted disturbing changes in Silicon Valley. He observes that technology industry leaders who once held strong liberal views are now actively working to seize as much government power as possible.
Mandatory dissemination
The core of Buterin's argument is that we can no longer rely on natural friction to prevent complete centralization. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve diffusion.
He cited “adversarial interoperability” as an important mechanism. This includes creating tools that plug into existing platforms without the author's permission. Buterin listed several examples related to the Web3 ethos. Examples of these include interfaces that filter content differently than intended by the host platform (such as ad blockers or AI filters), and systems that enable the transfer of value without relying on centrally managed financial chokepoints.
Sci-Hub has been cited as a tool to enforce scientific impartiality through forced dissemination.
“The conundrum: How can civilization thrive in the 21st century without extreme concentration of power?” Buterin asks. “The solution is to mandate further adoption.”
“Pluralist morality” and the role of cryptocurrencies
Buterin calls for a moral synthesis that encourages actors to have influence while preventing them from becoming hegemonic.
Notably, he used the Ethereum-based liquid staking protocol Lido as an example. Buterin argues that despite holding about 24% of the staked ETH supply, Lido is less feared than similar-sized centralized organizations due to its internal structure.
“Lido is not a single actor; it is an internally decentralized DAO with dozens of operators,” Buterin wrote, but added that the community remains wary that Lido should not control a large portion of the stake.
