4 ms·

In an authoritarian state, especially one where food is scarce to much of the population, learning a skill that is considered vital to the state is a good way t

In an authoritarian state, especially one where food is scarce to much of the population, learning a skill that is considered vital to the state is a good way to ensure you can eat.

mkirklions 8y ago
It reminds me of all the 'Humanity started farming and it allowed people to specialize'. Also, I imagine that those skills allow you to talk to the outside world without any old people knowing whats going on.
- yorwba 8y ago
  NK has a system where everyone with any kind of outside contact is paired up with a stranger who might be an intelligence agent or just a regular person whose family has been taken hostage, but in any case they're fairly likely to snitch. The East German Stasi used similar methods, and quite effectively.
  - flohofwoe 8y ago
    Comparing the situation in Eastern Germany to North Korea is a bit of a stretch to put it mildly. I don't know first-hand how bad it is in NK, but I grew up in the GDR. Even the worst Stasi actions are most likely tamer than a normal day in North Korea (family members and friends ended up in jail for weeks or months for attempting to escape to the West, but I guess if the same happened in North Korea it's not done with a bit of jail time). Most Stasi snitches (IMs) didn't need much 'encouragement' by the Stasi, most did it for purely egoistical reasons (money or favours).
    - coldtea 8y ago
      >Even the worst Stasi actions are most likely tamer than a normal day in North Korea as reported in doubtful articles and by sources with reasons to put some spice on their stories (e.g. to have them celebrated and promoted as heroic defectors as opposed to run of the mill immigrants).
- netsharc 8y ago
  Interesting thought, if N.K. is as connected as the USA, the master hacker would more or less own (pwn?) the country, right? "Luckily" for NK, most of their infrastructure are probably offline.

In an authoritarian state, especially one where food is scarce to much of the population, learning a skill that is considered vital to the state is a good way to ensure you can eat.

mkirklions 8y ago

It reminds me of all the 'Humanity started farming and it allowed people to specialize'. Also, I imagine that those skills allow you to talk to the outside world without any old people knowing whats going on.

yorwba 8y ago
NK has a system where everyone with any kind of outside contact is paired up with a stranger who might be an intelligence agent or just a regular person whose family has been taken hostage, but in any case they're fairly likely to snitch. The East German Stasi used similar methods, and quite effectively.
- flohofwoe 8y ago
  Comparing the situation in Eastern Germany to North Korea is a bit of a stretch to put it mildly. I don't know first-hand how bad it is in NK, but I grew up in the GDR. Even the worst Stasi actions are most likely tamer than a normal day in North Korea (family members and friends ended up in jail for weeks or months for attempting to escape to the West, but I guess if the same happened in North Korea it's not done with a bit of jail time). Most Stasi snitches (IMs) didn't need much 'encouragement' by the Stasi, most did it for purely egoistical reasons (money or favours).
  - coldtea 8y ago
    >Even the worst Stasi actions are most likely tamer than a normal day in North Korea as reported in doubtful articles and by sources with reasons to put some spice on their stories (e.g. to have them celebrated and promoted as heroic defectors as opposed to run of the mill immigrants).
netsharc 8y ago
Interesting thought, if N.K. is as connected as the USA, the master hacker would more or less own (pwn?) the country, right? "Luckily" for NK, most of their infrastructure are probably offline.