Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and CEO of Input Output, has created a buzz on Twitter by seemingly endorsing DOGE.
“Doge voting 4ever,” the Cardano founder wrote with love emojis.
The tweet from Hoskinson promoting DOGE has surprised many in the Cardano community, given his past negative comments about the meme coin. Hoskinson had previously criticized DOGE and its creators for mocking Bitcoin and the work he had put into the cryptocurrency industry.
Despite his past criticisms of DOGE, it is more probable that Hoskinson’s tweet refers to the Venetian electoral process during the Renaissance period. This system was designed to prevent corruption and other negative traits within the government. The People of Venice elected the Doge, which referred to the republic’s leader, through a complex process.
Read also: Hoskinson Requests Cardano Community Perspective in Open Letter Reaction
According to historical records, the Venetian Great Council had a complex process for selecting the Doge. The process involved a series of random selections and reductions. Initially, 30 members were randomly chosen by casting lots, and these 30 members would then randomly select nine others. From this group of nine, 40 members would be chosen. The council would randomly select 12 from the 40, and the 12 members would select 25. From this group of 25, the council would randomly select nine members. The final nine members would then elect 45, randomly reduced to 11. The 11 members would finally choose 41 individuals to vote for the Doge.
However, despite being the republic’s leader, the Doge did not have unlimited power. Several checks and balances were in place to limit the Doge’s power, including oversight from the Great Council and the Judiciary. Furthermore, the office of the Doge was not hereditary, and the Venetians tried to dispel any fantasies of hereditary rule by destroying any symbols or seals associated with a Doge following his death.
It is relevant to note that Hoskinson’s recent comments on “Doge voting” come at a time when the Cardano network is gearing up for the final phase of its roadmap, called the Age of Voltaire. This phase is expected to bring about a new era of decentralized governance on the network, which Hoskinson believes will set an example for the rest of the industry.
The Age of Voltaire in the Cardano network will incorporate a treasury system along with a voting mechanism to make the network self-sustainable. This will allow ADA holders to have a say in the direction of the network and propose improvements and upgrades. The treasury will be available to fund these changes if they are approved through the voting process.
The network has initiated the first steps towards decentralized governance with Project Catalyst. This experimental process proposes a “liquid democracy” model that combines the benefits of direct and representative democracy. The liquid democracy system allows for expert contributions to discourage irrational behavior. In this system, voters can vote directly or delegate their voting power to an expert on a specific topic they trust.
In the previous year, Hoskinson introduced the Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) 1694, the first proposal to usher in the Age of Voltaire in the Cardano network. This proposal suggested the creation of a Cardano constitution.
