Permissionless as the Return to Nature

Civilization, Laozi suggests, corrupted humanity's original nature through rules, hierarchies, and permissions. The Tao that can be named—regulated, permissioned, controlled—is not the eternal Tao. Permissionless blockchains represent a return to natural order: anyone with a computer can participate, validate, propose changes. No gatekeeper approves your entry. Contrast this with traditional finance, where banks, regulators, and licensing boards control access. Permissionless systems feel chaotic to those accustomed to institutional order, yet they reflect how nature actually works. Forest ecosystems don't require EPA approval; they simply self-organize. Decentralized exchanges succeed not despite but because of their permissionless nature—anyone can provide liquidity, anyone can trade, incentives align naturally. This freedom comes with risks (scams, exploits, volatility), but these are the costs of restored autonomy. Laozi teaches that trying to make nature safe through rules creates artificial fragility. Permissionless systems are rough, unpolished, uncarved—pu again. They require self-responsibility and expose folly without institutional buffers. Yet this very exposure creates resilience and innovation that permission-based systems cannot match. The return to nature means accepting its untempered character.