Decentralized Defi or Centralized Defi what do you prefer ?

What is the idea behind Decentralization ?

If we look at centralized servers as a point of reference then we see all information, the logic's and the algorithms to run the system on one system.
The central system serves the information and is responsible for all the operations.
However when we talk of a decentralized system, the operational load is distributed across a network of nodes.

Depending upon the nature of the network these nodes are generally located in different locations and are not under the influence or control of one person.

Well the idea is no one person be able to control the entire network or blockchain and no one person or group should be able to take it down.

Yet we see projects where one person calls the shots and becomes the face of the project.

At least that is the idea of decentralization. Besides that there should not be one seat of central power who calls the shots.

Instead there is a mechanism to make a proposal by the various stake holders which can also be the entities running the nodes.

Thus to make a decision like a fork of a chain or to decide a part of the supply to be burned there has to be a voting mechanism.
The voting mechanism has to be such that it is beyond the influence of one person or group.

However not all projects start as decentralized

In general a project idea is a brain child of a person or a group who sees an opportunity to improve a system or finds a better way to do things.

They build a so called decentralized project around the idea and then more people get on board.
People who like and support the idea form a community and become the flag bearers of the idea and the project.
Developers come along who improve upon the idea.
Investors and seed fund providers come who provide the financial backing and the project gets going,

If the project gets going smoothly and provides a functional solution usually it sees a rise in the value of its tokens.

The road map says it all or does it?

All good crypto projects worth their salt have a road map in place that describes how the project would proceed.

Yet these very projects that claim to be decentralized crypto projects have one thing missing.
That is at what point can they claim to be truly decentralized?

If one person who believes that he /she owns the project can make all the decisions and decides to call the shots should such a project even qualify as decentralized?

The relevance of this question becomes important in the wake of the current crypto crash.

Point of relinquishing power

To reap the benefits of decentralization there has to be a point in the road map when the people who start the project give up their controlling stake.
Only once this is done and achieved should the project be called a decentralized one without this it is a centralized entity where one person controls the show.

The need for checks and balances

With the current state of affairs where a failed project shows no sense of responsibility, transparency and the urgency to build mechanisms to safeguard the investors and supporters raises serious concerns about the future of crypto.

The idea of decentralization starts with letting go

One does understand that the original team and founders may have some brilliant ideas to take the project forward however the use of the term decentralized crypto is misleading people and should be avoided.

Collective intelligence can be better than one

A community driven approach can help bring forth the best idea and take the project forward.
Or would it become like a rudder less ship?
A case in point look at pancakeswap.finance It looks to be a nice example of a Defi project that is more decentralized than a lot of defi's that are modeled on the same business model.

My closing thoughts and question for you

How is a decentralized defi project decentralized if one person call the shots?
There are examples of both decentralized projects doing badly and going bust as well as decentralized project with a central authority running the project well.
What is your choice when it comes to governance model of DeFi Projects ?