Thread by @jchervinsky

1/ We talk a lot about governance in crypto: whether it exists, how much we need, & what we can do better than ever.

We can learn a lot from one of the best examples in history: the creation of the executive cabinet.

Disclosure: my wife wrote this! 😃👇
amazon.com/Cabinet-Washin…

2/ The cabinet includes the Vice-President & the heads of all fifteen executive departments. It gathers often to advise the President on critical issues of national concern.

These days we take the cabinet for granted, assuming it's a standard segment of the bureaucracy.

Not so.

3/ Despite its pivotal role in federal governance for centuries, the cabinet is not authorized or even addressed in the Constitution.

This was not mere oversight. The framers of the Constitution considered & *explicitly rejected* proposals to establish an executive cabinet.

4/ Suspicious of the British privy council's influence over the King, the framers were concerned that a cabinet would obscure responsibility for decision-making in the executive branch.

An early draft of the Constitution included a cabinet. It was removed in the 1787 Convention.

5/ So how did we end up with a cabinet anyway?

🚨shill alert🚨

You'll have to buy the book to get the whole story, which is fascinatingly & beautifully written by @lmchervinsky.

But in short, it turned out that the framers' governance model didn't survive contact with reality.

6/ As ratified, the Constitution gave the President only two ways to obtain advice on critical issues:

- written opinions from the department secretaries, or
- in-person advice from the Senate while in session

Both ensured the source of advice would be recorded & known to all.

7/ George Washington -- already an American hero & so certain to become the nation's first president that the position was basically designed for him -- tried his best to use only these two methods to obtain advice.

Neither was sufficient to meet the actual needs of governance.

8/ Within a few years of taking office, Washington decided he *must* create a cabinet, knowing full well that the Constitution didn't authorize it & the framers hadn't wanted it.

It's a remarkable tale of an extraordinary leader who set precedent that survived hundreds of years.

9/ If you want to learn more, pick up a copy of the book. Did I mention it's particularly well-written & engaging? 😜

But really, it's been described as "important and illuminating" by @jmeacham & "a riveting, beautifully written story" by @JohannNeem. I fully agree with both.

10/ And there really are important lessons for us to learn as we use revolutionary technology to design new governance systems for the future.

Among them, the need for optionality & flexibility, & to avoid the hubris of thinking we can achieve perfection without experimentation.

11/ It's not easy to publish a book during a pandemic, but @lmchervinsky is making the best of it.

If you're free tonight, check out her book launch (link below). I'm sure she's happy to take questions here too. Just try not to go full crypto on her! 😉🙏
facebook.com/events/5131542…