Daniel Patrick Moynhan[1] chaired the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy[2] and wrote a book called Secrecy: The American Experience[3]. H

Daniel Patrick Moynhan[1] chaired the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy[2] and wrote a book called Secrecy: The American Experience[3]. His main thesis (IIRC, I read it awhile ago) was that information is an important asset in government. People in government naturally seek to obtain it, hoard it, and only trade it at a price. He argued that much of government secrecy serves that dynamic rather than national interests. He also asserts that ideas suffer from being developed in secret, often in insular echo chambers, where they are not exposed to the light of day of public debate and of outside ideas and points of view - a sort of cathedral vs. bazaar perspective. (Again, IIRC.) ---- [1] Notable sociologist, PhD in International Relations, UN Ambassador, Senator ... few were better qualified as a combination of scholar and practitioner. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moynihan_Commission_on_Government_Secrecy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moynihan_Commission_on_Governm... [3] https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/daniel-patrick-moynihan-5/secrecy-the-american-experience/ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/daniel-patrick-mo... and https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/04/reviews/981004.04tanenht.html https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/04/reviews/981004.04tane...