Blockchain Politics
Ideology and the Crisis of Social Trust

By (author) Kieron O’Hara

ISBN13: 9781802207927

Imprint: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd

Format: Hardback

Published: 27/06/2025

Availability: Available

Description
Likening contemporary extremes of far-right populism and identity politics to 17th century Peasants and Puritans, Blockchain Politics examines the enduring importance of trust in political life. Kieron O’Hara develops a new theory of trust to analyse how these extremes undermine social accord and weaken representative democracy, and to suggest remedies. Outlining a novel and insightful theory of trust as the basis of community relations and political institutions, the book describes in detail how the shift towards individualism in liberal democracies frames trust as a vulnerability, taking inspiration from new technologies such as blockchain and smart contracts to implement ‘trustless trust’. O’Hara demonstrates that, on the contrary, conservative measures are needed to preserve and protect liberal societies from the excesses of modern liberalism, progressivism and identity politics. He illustrates the importance of trust in responding effectively to climate change, geopolitical uncertainty and ageing populations, and argues that the solution to such serious political issues lies in rival parties accepting the positive characteristics of modern democracies, and committing to sustaining them. Blockchain Politics is an enlightening read for academics in political science, philosophy, ethics and sociology. It is also essential for politicians, policymakers and anyone interested in reconfiguring conservatism in an age of extreme ideologies to defend institutions and practices that support trust.
Contents Introduction: the importance of trust for democratic politics, and why the populist right and post-Marxist left want to eliminate it 1 1 Trustless trust and the blockchain metaphor 13 PART I A THEORY OF TRUST Introduction 32 2 Preliminaries 35 3 Trustworthiness 54 4 Trust 68 PART II CONSERVATISM AND ITS AFFINITY FOR TRUST Introduction 95 5 Small-c conservatism 97 6 Legibility and contextual integrity 106 7 Trust and community 115 8 Trust and the state 144 PART III BLOCKCHAINING DEMOCRACY Introduction 154 9 Technology against trust 157 10 Democratic liberalism against trust 173 11 Critical “progressives” against trust 189 12 Identity politics against trust 199 13 Conclusion: the trust dividend 220 References 232 Index 262
  • Conservatism & right-of-centre democratic ideologies
  • Political structures: democracy
  • Professional & Vocational
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List Price: £105.00