4 ms·
> We are fighting a broader battle to maintain alternatives to the growing digital panopticon that is emerging all around us. This is just one of the aspects
by newscracker 10y ago
> We are fighting a broader battle to maintain alternatives to the growing digital panopticon that is emerging all around us.
This is just one of the aspects that support stronger governments and corporates that put the interests of themselves and a tiny section of the population (those who help these get even stronger) above everything else. While some people discuss about this or mass surveillance or tracking, most of the populace isn't even aware how liberties are being lost and how "the power of the people" is becoming more of a carefully constructed mirage. Things seem to be moving in the direction of a dystopian society where appearances mask reality and common people are kept complacent with entertainment and other things to keep them occupied.
I don't see a cashless world happening in the next few decades, because it will take a lot of work to get people out of poverty first while some entities focus on removing cash. Even if it were to happen, a cashless society would still have many different pseudo-currencies and barter systems (like those that exist in different contexts and systems today). What's worrying though is that in the future many goods and services may become inaccessible (if one wants to avoid electronic transactions) unless one resorts to the black/gray/underground markets.
- mikro2nd 10y agoAm I the only one who found it sadly ironic to read this on a site that pops up the warning, "We use cookies to help us improve this site and your experience. Continue to use the site if you’re happy with this or click to find out more"?
- meanduck 10y agoExcept hn cannot imprison or tax you. The problem is not tracking but give more power to something overly-powerful. Same thing applies to corporations.
- cryoshon 10y agohere are the alternatives to the new status quo of totalitarian democracy: 1. leave 2. revolt seriously, that's it. we lost the first dozen encounters with totalitarianism, so now options are limited and undesirable. widespread witholding of labor/ consent to be governed is the next step if we are serious about change. politically, we're on the downward slope for at least another 8 years...
- mindslight 10y ago"Revolt" doesn't work because democracy provides a pressure relief valve that prevents any significant mass of people from wanting to revolt. Notice how the "hopeful" prepper culture is based around passively waiting for things to "inevitably" fall apart rather than actively forming a militia. "Leave" doesn't work because there's no place to go. The US empire is nearly everywhere, the best you can do is escape to the different monetary spheres of Russia/China and buy some time. IMHO our two options are 1. digital freedom through cryptography, or 2. become slave cells of a larger organism. The first is a fucking long shot, but I don't see any other possibility for individualism. Then again as I get older, I can't help but shake the feeling we're really just observing bog-standard societal collapse.