UK - Day 0

When we enable distributed power, everything changes. In place of the relative certainty of expert central control, we get the wisdom of crowds and all the volatility that implies.

At 10:00 pm last evening I was returning from a dinner with friends, and the consensus view was that REMAIN had it. When I switched on the TV at 3:00 this morning, I watched that certainty melt, the shocked, instinctive reactions of those that rely on certainty.

As the immediate collateral effects of the result start to show, from resignations and power plays, to demands for referenda elsewhere, we can lose sight of the real signals.

Closely controlled power may offer greater certainty but almost always results in assymetric distribution of the benefits. Those who gain think somewhow they deserve it, whilst those who lose feel disenfranchised. The interesting thing about a referendum based not on party lines, but how we feel, is that it releases a whole new set of dynamics. Those who assume they have authority…