>Email or TCP/IP are examples of such decentralized systems.
I'm not sure about those analogies. SMTP email and TCPIP require DNS to route packets. DNS root authority is centralized. (Yes, DNS for performance purposes is implemented across distributed computers worldwide but ultimate authority still traces back to the root servers.)
Even without DNS lookup, the numerical IP addresses are assigned by a central authority.
(Yes, if we're only talking about playing with protocols instead of actual global connectivity, one could run private SMTP on an isolated network with no central authority but that's not the analogy we're interested in.)
Maybe your analogies and my disagreement with them is a perfect illustration of what the author is talking about: centralized governance is still there even if we don't notice it.
It's not about eliminating centralization, it's about minimizing the fragility it causes in key areas. We minimize it by locating bottlenecks and finding solutions in these areas, not throwing our hands in the air unless we have 100% decentralization (assuming we even want that).
Sensible proponents of Bitcoin shouldn't argue that centralization is "wrong", but that monetary centralization creates perverse incentives, and that Bitcoin is a potential solution to this.
I'm not sure about those analogies. SMTP email and TCPIP require DNS to route packets. DNS root authority is centralized. (Yes, DNS for performance purposes is implemented across distributed computers worldwide but ultimate authority still traces back to the root servers.)
Even without DNS lookup, the numerical IP addresses are assigned by a central authority.
(Yes, if we're only talking about playing with protocols instead of actual global connectivity, one could run private SMTP on an isolated network with no central authority but that's not the analogy we're interested in.)
Maybe your analogies and my disagreement with them is a perfect illustration of what the author is talking about: centralized governance is still there even if we don't notice it.