And you have to. This area (the dev team) is where the decentralisation paradigm loses its usefullness.

People keep making the argument: "Decentralise everything! Let the users decide on difficult technical problems!"

But if we followed that logic in extremis, every git commit would get put to the "electorate". Useful development couldn't take place under those conditions, simple misunderstanding could hold back vital or urgent changes that would be effective. Divisive, corrosive top level designs might end up under serious consideration....


Software Development teams can only be a small number of individuals, with a preferably smaller number of members with commit access to the project. The fact that we have a really amiable, pragmatic guy in that role right now has been consistently good for Bitcoin; Wladimir van der Laan is exactly the type of leader I like.