How a giant robocop in Detroit is democratising change

 

Historically this has given wealthy individuals and institutions monopoly control over this direction.  It has allowed them to bankroll the change they want, fund the projects they desire and given them an insurmountable advantage in furthering their own interests. If the terms we live under seem to favour the rich it is because the rich are uniquely able to set those terms. Money, and the threat of its removal, is the greatest bargaining tool we have.

 

While the ubiquity of shares and bonds has diminished the financial barrier to direct investment, an expertise barrier has been erected in its place. Your average individual has little knowledge of the intricacies of these instruments and is therefore reluctant to invest their money in this way. Even those who aren’t so intimidated tend to pool their money in banks or funds, transferring their potential influence to the same institutions and individuals who have always wielded it. 

 

Now crowdfunding has arrived. The last five years have seen an explosion of Internet platforms that allow users to invest in companies, in projects, in ideas they find irresistibly compelling. They can donate, loan or purchase equity, the sums offered completely dependent on the investor’s confidence and capacity. People are free to explore the immense diversity of hypothetical enterprises and, at the click of a button, decide which ones they wish to be a reality. People all over the world are being challenged by their newfound, joyously thrilling ability to finance change. 

 

And if the result is a $50,000 giant Robocop statue in Detroit or Ozombie: The Axis of Evil Dead, then that just illustrates how wonderful the whole concept is. Companies no longer need the blessing of their bank or to court the approval of a wealthy backer. They are able to connect directly with people who share their vision, to circumvent the individuals and institutions that previously diverted attention towards projects more aligned with their own interests. 

 

Aside from the whacky, many brilliant ideas have been funded this way. Innovative technologies and gadgets, disaster relief and assistance, infrastructure and energy projects, art, music, science experiments; all have captured the imagination of the masses, put forward by visionaries with the desire to include and inspire a rapidly growing community. In 2012 over 2 million people pledged a total of $319.7m to projects through Kickstarter, one of over 450 active crowdfunding platforms. 

 

This swell of crowdfunding initiatives comes amid a wider movement. Community projects are revolutionising local infrastructure, peer to peer lending is transforming the loan market and the Internet has already irreversibly changed the relationship between suppliers and consumers. Wherever possible we are collectively opting to bypass the established authorities in favour of greater choice, greater control and a greater say in our future.  

 

Altogether this could signal a decentralisation of power, a democratisation of the ability to drive change. It could mark the beginning of a movement whereby power is transferred from the sovereign few who have typically managed and guided the many to the many themselves. It could not. In any case, a dramatic upheaval is underway.  And what better symbol than a giant Robocop in Detroit.