Ethereum, and blockchain in general were created to serve the same purpose as the European Union (EU). They are both meant to be a baselayer to harmonize humanity. A set of codes for coordination.

Without context, I imagine this makes little sense and my emphasis on the EU may appear random. The reason I focus on the EU is it represents the most recent large-scale effort to establish a system of laws applicable to multiple nations. Is Ethereum also such an experiment? It does represent a set of rules, and it clearly crosses borders. My answer is yes, but let me expand.

History is a Quest for Codes

The goal of the EU was to intertwine people from dispersed nations and show them that cooperation, not war, is the path to growth and prosperity. Sounds a bit idealistic and farfetched, but it worked! To quote myself -

At the end of the WWII, the EU was in its infancy. It was started as the Coal and Steel Community in 1951. The idea was to link the countries of France and Germany economically so as to make further war between the countries impossible. The experiment was a dramatic success. Not only did the EU grow geographically and economically the idea of war between the countries of the EU today seems impossible.

There is a joke that when East and West Germany were first divided if someone had said they would eventually become unified, the response would have been "Who won the war?” As it turns out, there was no war, they just peacefully merged under the auspicious of the EU. Of course, noting this occurred after the fall of another large-scale social experiment; we will briefly revisit the USSR later.

The EU is a set of institutions, which just means rules or codes. It is no accident that codes in English refer both to legal codes and computer codes. Both legal codes and computer code search for the same thing. They search for continuity and consistency.

Efficient codes function like mathematical equations where, upon inserting specific criteria, the rule provides a clear course of action. There is a direct correlation between the code and its outcome, and this correlation can be traced back and forth. These codes can be utilized for a range of purposes, such as regulating the transportation of tomatoes, safeguarding patents, or abolishing slavery. All things the EU deals with.

The key point though is the world has always been in search of codes. I am just outlining the latest and most successful large-scale attempt to do so. Let’s take a very brief tour of history and visit some of the great experiments to establish codes over large expanses of geography.

The Oldest Codes

The oldest set of legal codes is considered The Code of Hammurabi, which dates back nearly 4000 years and was enforced by the Babylonian Empire. The code is considered almost mythical, but, what might seem less mythical is that it also placed taxes on the trade of tomatoes (well ok, not sure you would have called them tomatoes back then), just like the EU. 4000 years go by and we still seek clarity on taxes and the trade of fruit.

About 2000 years later the infamous Julius Ceaser crossed a small river in northern Italy called the Rubicon and uttered the phrase “I have saved the Republic.” To this day crossing the Rubicon means taking a decisive step. Spoiler alert, Ceaser didn’t save the Republic, he led to its downfall. But, what is really interesting is what did he declare to be saving? More than anything it was the supremacy of Roman Law.

The greatness of Rome was not founded upon her military nor political power, but upon her laws. ~ Cicero

About 1200 years later Genghis Khan conquered half the known world by brute force. Yet he quickly realized that while force was the key to conquest, it wasn’t the key to governance.

The same person who said

The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes ~ (young) Genghis Khan

later in his life also said

The greatest strength is in the long reign of a just law ~ (old) Genghis Khan

One of the longest-running and infamous sets of codes was called The Yasa. It was written largely by Genghis but was updated generation by generation during the long rule of the Mongol Empire. The code had a huge emphasis on fairness, justice, and equality. Ya, I guess after you scatter your enemy and reduce cities to ashes, you need to rebuild them and establish some good codes to govern and collect taxes.

For completeness, let us return to the USSR. The USSR reigned over a huge part of the world (not quite as big as the Mongol Empire, but pretty close) for nearly a hundred years. More than anything, what the USSR was, was an experiment in a radical set of rules. Rules that put large amounts of power in the state to usher in equality, well it didn’t work, not a lot else to add. Orwell said it best -

The Soviet Union was a country where everyone was equal, but some people were more equal than others. ~ George Orwell

Ethereum and Beyond

Governance is the process of making decisions within a community. It is the way that a group of people agree on what actions to take. The blockchain is a tool for creating decentralized governance systems, where a community can come to consensus on rules and actions without the need for a central authority. ~ Vitalik Buterin

There isn’t really a lot to add to close this out. Under the hood of any empire, nation, country, or community is the desire for codes. Ways to coordinate. While Ethereum is of course complex and has many dimensions. Its broadest dimension is a set of codes to allow commerce across borders. To connect the world, just as the EU wanted to connect Europe.

Now, I am not suggesting the comparisons go beyond that. There are all sorts of reasons Ethereum, and blockchains are nothing like the EU. The point is, they are alike in a very important dimension, they are both sets of codes that serve as the embodiment of laws.

Human history has sought the rule of law, which implies all are subject to the same laws. Code is law is just the updated version.