The Blockchain Socialist

Why did Democracy fail in DAOs? w/ Theo Beutel | Devconnect 2025


Listen Later

Continuing the publication of interviews from DevConnect in Buenos Aires, I sat down with Theo Beutel (academic secretariat at the Ethereum Foundation, researcher at Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, University of Zurich) to reflect on attempts at democracy with DAOs. As someone who has worked as the governance lead at several DAOs, Theo had a lot of insight to share.

We discussed his recent paper Digital Democracy in Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, the role of academia in Ethereum and why plutocracy has largely dominated the DAO space. By and large it seems that innovation in governance in crypto has followed the needs of investors and not other classes of people. 

This episode is sponsored by NYM, the world's most private VPN. Unlike traditional VPNs, Nym uses a decentralized mixnet to scramble your internet data — hiding who you're talking to, when, and how often. You can switch between full mixnet mode for maximum anonymity, or a faster VPN mode for everyday use.

Use the code blockchainsocialist when signing up and get an extra month!

If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@[email protected]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit. 

Support the show

ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.

The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Blockchain SocialistBy The Blockchain Socialist

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

24 ratings


More shows like The Blockchain Socialist

View all
Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

2,003 Listeners

Upstream by Upstream

Upstream

1,859 Listeners

Making Sense with Sam Harris by Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

26,353 Listeners

Unchained by Laura Shin

Unchained

1,210 Listeners

Bankless by Bankless

Bankless

1,048 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,543 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,379 Listeners