http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2002-2006 by the authors Thu, 9 Jan 2003 15:56:16 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/01/09/153952.php#comment-2758 One important difference between <i>1984</i> and today is that so far, many of the anti-privacy elements of our society are voluntary. You certainly don't have to get a little keychain fob for the grocery store, you'll just pay a little more or drive a little farther. You don't have to submit warranty cards, you just take you chances if the bicycle wheels fall off. The cameras? Well, I can't answer that one. It's true, those things do invade privacy. I don't like them, and I can't even explain lucidly why that is. The other one that really bugs me is how every company in the world seems to need my social security number before they'll trust me. Again, I can always choose not to, oh, buy a house or a car, sign up for satellite tv, or join a gym, but that's a funny definition of voluntary, I'll grant. Still, the very existence of a book like the one you referenced, written by the so-called Boston T. Party, demonstrates that privacy is possible, if difficult. For all of the talk about megalithic corporation as evil invaders and corruptors of all that is Good(tm), it is still only the government that can make something compulsory (like those social security numbers I mentioned, or cameras on public streets). Orwell had it right overall, he just missed how smoothly such a society could develop. That's why his time-frame was off - he thought it would have to come pretty much all at once by force, but we're more stupid than he realized, we're bringing it on ourselves a piece at a time! ]]> 2758@blogcritics.org Thu, 9 Jan 2003 15:56:16 EST