Disclaimer: This article was accomplished by Chao in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of HelloDAO or any entities associated with.
Many universities in the world have a college of Liberal Arts. It is usually translated as “college of literature” in Mandarin. I often feel odd about this translation, since they teach so many subjects, or courses, in these college.
Liberal Arts of Harvard University holds 18 mandatory courses as vital parts of their program. Those courses are related to natural science, social science, humanities,arts, etc. So, it would be inappropriate to categorize all of them as “art of literature”. Liberal Arts covers a variety of subjects, which differs from any other majors which only focus on specialized subjects. Education of Liberal Arts is expected to establish an expanded system of view of the world and value. It is an education for the heart and soul.
My interest in this word came from a DAO. This DAO is trying to establish Liberal Arts for Crypto. It is a DAO for education, the exploration of art, literature and social science. It is called Crypto, Culture, and Society.
First time that I stumbled upon this DAO was in October of last year. Albeit lesser known, it gained Web3’s primal support and created a set of attractive courses. I was attracted by the compelling names, unique views of value and solid courses. But at that time, I did not fully understand the purpose of Liberal Arts in the world of crypto. I began to understand it a little bit deeper only after spending another 6 months.
(I am not going to talk about the details of this DAO today, which will be a separate article. I lurked in this DAO’s server for a couple months. Recently I registered and was selected as a second-semester student. I will share my thoughts when I have time.)
Education in Web3 have always been associated with how to use wallet, what DeFi is, what’s L1 and what’s L2. Thus, the most popular people in this industry are tech-experts, entrepreneurs and scientists because this is a tech-built world. On the other hand, culture is the neglected part in Crypto community, even despised to a certain degree.
However, does the industry only want a technical product? Obviously not. Ever since David Chaum in the 80’s, cypherpunks in the 90’s, all those people ever wanted was to make the world a better place with the cryptography.
Syndicate tried to break the barrier between community and VC investors.
Krause House tried to help sports fans to fight for the right to speak.
PubDAO tried to reshape the business of publishing houses.
Bore Ape Yacht Club, Azuki, and Mfers tried to change how people think about brands and the contagiousness of brands.
All of them are reshaping the society. Their thoughts, value perception, and the construction of narrative and cultures are more important than the crypto and tools which are merely tools.
In the world of Web3, the power of narrative, the ability of constructing culture, as well as bringing people together are the fundamental skills.
Top Web 3 investors such as A16z, Paradigm, Multicoin, and the newly joined Sequoia Capital, all have strong ability for continuously creating narratives.
Tens of thousands of PFP (avatar) NFT projects were already down to zero or are going down to zero. For those that survived, they all successfully built up their own culture, and through culture, they formed communities.
Good DAOs are like them. The value of each member of a DAO is united with strong culture. This is the only reason that a DAO can survive. Most of the time, DAOs have a laid-back vibe, GM in the morning, LFG at noon. The heavy work behind is often not revealed. Without enough self-motivation, no one will stick to the end. So, the values, vibes, and united friends are the only things that keep people going.
I’ve seen many DAOs where the core contributors talk about the future with stars in their eyes. No matter what future lies in their heart, I am touched by the shimmering in their eyes. This is the power of belief and culture.
These stories, these cultures, and these communities, will eventually shape the next version of this world.
With tech, with warmth.
Welcome to a future society of web3 and liberal arts.
Welcome to a future society of web3 and liberal arts.
