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A government state doesn't actually have to put you under constant surveillance, they just have to make you think you're under constant surveillance. It's the
by Kristine1975 11y ago
A government state doesn't actually have to put you under constant surveillance, they just have to make you think you're under constant surveillance.
It's the old idea of the Panopticon as envisioned by Jeremy Bentham: Achieve compliance not by watching everybody all the time, but by creating a system where everybody could be watched at any time.
- lucastx 11y agoI like how the Panopticon concept is complemented by the Synopticon one, as in "many watches few". It's close to the "sousveillance" concept. What may save us from a dystopic totalitarism is the freedom and agency we get through our devices and networks. Certainly software freedom, use of cryptography and uncensored, inclusive basic communications infrastructures are needed.