# Decentralized organizations `kaal:entity:decentralized-organizations` **Status.** derived This node is assembled mechanically from the 9 claims that carry the concept tag `decentralized-organizations`. It is a roster of what the corpus says under this term. It is **not** an adjudicated definition: no single statement here has been ruled canonical, and no first-appearance call has been made. Read the claims and judge for yourself. ## Every claim under this term 9 claims across 6 works, 2017 to 2021. **2017** - [2939127-031](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/2939127-031) [mechanism/argued] -- Because a series of smart contracts granted DAO token holders voting rights, the blockchain based smart contracts performed the function of articles of association or corporate bylaws, in an organization that had no directors, managers, or employees. > Because a series of smart contracts granted DAO token holders voting rights, the blockchain-based smart contracts imitated the role of articles of association or bylaws. Mark Fenwick, Wulf A. Kaal, Erik P. M. Vermeulen, Legal Education in the Blockchain Revolution (2017). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2939127 **2021** - [3782191-020](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782191-020) [condition/argued] -- The shared values and core belief systems of members, not formal hierarchy, provide cohesion and longevity in decentralized systems, as with Wikipedia contributors united by a belief that decentralized collaboration produces superior knowledge outputs. > The values and core belief systems of members provide cohesion and longevity in decentralized systems. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Preface to (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782191 - [3782193-026](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-026) [mechanism/argued] *(failure mode)* -- The authors accept Brafman and Beckstrom's thesis that the best way to convert a decentralized organization into a centralized one is to introduce the profit motive, since money supplies a focal point for internal competition. > The thesis of The Starfish and the Spider is that the best way to convert a decentral- ized organization to a centralized organization is to introduce the profit motive. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782193-039](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782193-039) [definitional/asserted] -- The authors stipulate that functioning democracies are decentralized autonomous organizations: the United States government is a DAO, as are Norway, Mauritius, Uruguay, and South Korea, and every functioning democracy is more akin to a DAO than to a centralized corporation. > The United States government is a decentralized organization, a DAO. Norway is a DAO—the best DAO according to the democracy index.38 Mauritius, Uruguay, and South Korea are also DAOs. Every functioning democracy is more akin to a DAO than to a centralized corporation. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Historical Sketches of Centralization vs. Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782193 - [3782198-014](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782198-014) [condition/argued] -- A truly decentralized organization requires that its rules be transparently available to all members; otherwise the keepers of the knowledge acquire higher status and a hierarchy forms. > In order to have a truly decentralized organization, the rules must be transpar- ently available to all members. Otherwise the keepers of the knowledge have a higher status, creating a hierarchy. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Contemporary Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782198 - [3782198-015](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782198-015) [condition/argued] *(failure mode)* -- If any single person could own the copyright to software that a decentralized organization uses, that person would hold de facto power over the organization, re establishing hierarchies of power inside it. > If one person could own the copyright to some of the software a decentralized organization uses, then they would have de facto power over the organization, again establishing hierarchies of power within the organization. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Contemporary Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782198 - [3782198-017](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782198-017) [condition/argued] -- The Apache Foundation's minimal governance works only because its members are not competing for power and money within the organization, which limits how far the model can be transferred to for profit settings. > But how can they thrive? The Apache Software Founda- tion's near trivial governance system works in an organization whose members are not competing for power and money within the organization. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Contemporary Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782198 - [3782201-009](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782201-009) [condition/argued] -- Keeping a decentralized organization aligned in pursuit of its goals requires providing something more valuable than money, namely reputation, following the Maghribi traders' example. > In order to keep a decentralized organization aligned in the pursuit of their goals, you must provide something more valuable than money: reputation. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, Future of Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782201 - [3782217-002](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3782217-002) [mechanism/argued] -- Governance in a decentralized organization depends on meaningful reputation, and the meaning of any reputation is determined by its history and by how that history is analyzed and presented, which makes historiography a governance variable rather than a neutral record. > Governance relies on meaningful reputation to de- cide who or what to focus on. The meaning of reputation is determined by its history and how that history is analyzed and presented. Craig Calcaterra, Wulf A. Kaal, The Importance of History In Decentralization (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3782217 ## Verify Every claim above resolves to a record carrying a verbatim source quote, the sha256 of the source PDF, and a preformatted citation. Nothing here asks to be taken on trust. curl -s https://wulfkaal.github.io/entities/decentralized-organizations.md | sha256sum **Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of this entity node. Its sha256 is the content hash.