State-sided Individualism & Societal Decentralization to Freedom

There is a dearth of association among individuals that can be directly linked to our ever-increasing centralized society. In this preview of his Catholic/Crypto Conference presentation, the Acton Institute’s Michael Mathison Miller cites Alexis de Tocqueville to explain man’s natural rite of association. According to Michael, associations more than mere gatherings; they are functional, autonomous, problem-solving, mutual aid societies.   In the face of increasing commercial and governmental centralization, he says we need social decentralization and a multiplicity of private, functional, and autonomous associations that enable people to flourish and work together to solve problems. Michael also says that if used for good, new technologies like blockchain or decentralized ledger technology will bolster communities and eliminate the breakdown of society. “If the state wants to increase individualism [read: isolation] and it’s in cahoots with large tech companies, it limits the social power of subsidiarity.”