If you want to take a “purest” approach then bitcoin has similar problems. To gain any chance of mining BTC you have to buy specialised equipment from someone.
I would also put joining a mining collective in a similar “human consent” category
You can study the universe and come up with a way to do PoW more efficiently. PoW requires knowledge to enter. With more knowledge and mastery, you are rewarded more.
The specialist equipment can be built by anyone at any time. Any country, any place. If your country blocks it? You can use specialist knowledge to circumvent them. You can also still use a computer to mine, though you will never mine a block now days, there is still a chance.
All of this is a very, very important feature that almost everyone overlooks now days. It is essential that it be this way. Anyone should be able to enter the network assuming they have the knowledge to do so.
Yes, they do.
In order to acquire the token, where does it come from in PoS?
You want to mint the token? It requires the token.
You want to buy the token? It requires someone that already has the token to sell it.
You want to trade the token? You need to find someone that has the token and wishes to perform that trade.
It requires acquiring a counterparty that consents to you acquiring a stake no matter how “mature” a PoS chain is.
If you want to take a “purest” approach then bitcoin has similar problems. To gain any chance of mining BTC you have to buy specialised equipment from someone.
I would also put joining a mining collective in a similar “human consent” category
No.
You can study the universe and come up with a way to do PoW more efficiently. PoW requires knowledge to enter. With more knowledge and mastery, you are rewarded more.
The specialist equipment can be built by anyone at any time. Any country, any place. If your country blocks it? You can use specialist knowledge to circumvent them. You can also still use a computer to mine, though you will never mine a block now days, there is still a chance.
All of this is a very, very important feature that almost everyone overlooks now days. It is essential that it be this way. Anyone should be able to enter the network assuming they have the knowledge to do so.