Cardano Governance

[paradoxicalsphere]

Hi,

The draft proposal is available for review at CIP-x?—It Takes a Village and copied on the Cardano CIPs forum, as per CIP 1 - CIP process.

[rphair]

To other editors: In my understanding, these ideas have been outlined already in this Cardano Forum thread (also linked in the "Discussions" of this issue): https://forum.cardano.org/t/idea-for-proposing-a-cardano-improvement-proposal/107720

I've already posted in that thread why I believe this subject matter is outside the defined scope of the CIP process. So I'll leave this issue in the hands of any other editors who might wish to leave it open and/or contribute any feedback.

[paradoxicalsphere]

@rphair ,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply acknowledging your awareness of the idea, as well as discussion surrounding the idea within the Cardano Technical Community, which I have genuinely sought to mediate within the spirit of the CIP guidelines, though in hindsight my efforts have been far from perfect.

I would request that if you, the CIP Editors, do not deem the idea worth developing further at this time, that you please allow the three-year period mentioned in the CIP guidelines prior to rejecting the idea:

CIPs should be changed from draft or proposed status to rejected status, upon request by any person, if they have not been progressed for more than three years.

I believe that the potential of the idea may come to be better recognized over time.

Also, I would ask that as CIP Editors you ask the Input Output, Cardano Foundation and EMURGO organizations at the management and upper management levels—follow the chain of command—whether the respective organizations may be interested in changing the scope of the CIP process to include governance processes such as those that I seek to propose, rather than deciding for yourselves as CIP Editors, which I believe would be overstepping your roles and responsibilities. Please do not "manage up" as you consider my idea. If you have questions, please ask.

I believe that the idea must be presented as a CIP because Cardano seeks to decentralize governance, and so does my idea. The CIP process currently is the best decentralized process that Cardano already has in place. Therefore, the CIP process must be used to propose additional changes to the Cardano ecosystem pertaining to governance.

The corollary would be me, as an individual, perhaps presenting my idea directly to IO, CF and EMURGO behind closed doors (from the perspective of the Cardano community). Proposing process changes related to the future of governance within the Cardano ecosystem in such a centralized manner would be destined to fail. I seek to present the idea on behalf of the Cardano community as a mere member and representative of said community even though I have not been elected to do so (noting that such an electoral process does not currently exist within the Cardano ecosystem).

The idea does suggest that the Cardano community give up some power to Cardano employees, with the oversight of their employers, for the sake of creating better balance throughout the Cardano ecosystem. The commitment from all sides would be no different than the commitment we make when entering into a long-term relationship, marriage or parenthood, for example. We give up some individual power and freedom so that the social network as a whole may become stronger. The willingness to compromise for the sake of the greater good—for society—is a sign of health and maturity required in order for society to grow and continue perpetually, even though as individuals we are finite beings.

I would also ask that you request the opinions of independent subject matter experts, including Sasha Ivanov (cited in the draft proposal) prior to making decisions related to the potential of the general idea that I seek to propose for the Cardano ecosystem, as a contributing member and representative of the Cardano community for more than one year, to date:

Sasha Ivanov is the founder of the Waves Platform, a global public blockchain platform that reached market capitalization in excess of $5.4 billion in 2022. It was crowdfunded with 30,000 BTC, representing the second-largest successfully crowdfunded blockchain project (after Ethereum). The name references his background as a theoretical physicist and the recently-discovered gravitational waves predicted by Einstein a century ago.

The idea is in my own interests in that I believe that a mature Cardano ecosystem should and will champion stake pools supporting charitable causes, as Ivanov describes in his article DAOs will never work without fixing governance. I am firmly committed to continuing to grow, over time, a successful stake pool—ticker CHG—financially supporting good and charitable causes in societies around the world.

I recognize that I am asking you, the Cardano community, IO, CF and EMURGO to consider changes and make efforts to change in new, potentially uncomfortable directions. I believe that Cardano's flexibility in the Voltaire era would have potential to secure Cardano as a mature, stable and permanent fixture in the global Web3 space.

As Pope Francis recently told a young audience: "[I am] pinning [my] hopes on... [your] efforts in working to save the planet and to make the world’s economy more attentive to the poor¹... A world economy is needed that expresses a new vision of the environment and the Earth. There are many people, businesses and institutions that are making an ecological conversion. We need to go forward on this road and do more. [There is] an urgent need to discuss models of development. Now is the time for courage in abandoning fossil fuels to accelerate the development of zero- or positive-impact sources of energy. Our generation has left you with a rich heritage, but we have not known how to protect the planet and are not securing peace.² [I lament] a lack of creativity, optimism, enthusiasm. We are grateful to God that you are here. Not only will you be there tomorrow, but you are here today."

¹ Such as the efforts of Cardano to bank the unbanked

² Emphasis added

Sincerely,

Oliver A. Sterzik
Paradoxical Sphere
Ticker CHG
https://change.paradoxicalsphere.com

[ltouro]

Some of the core motivations of your proposal are also being discussed in CIP-1694 here: #380. You should take a look if you haven't yet.

[paradoxicalsphere]

Thank you @ltouro, I will take a look at #380

[rphair]

@paradoxicalsphere please see #380 (comment).

[paradoxicalsphere]

Thank you @rphair I joined the CIP Editor Meetings Discord server