4 ms·

As someone who leans libertarian, I tend to shy away from rigid legislative solutions to social problems and corporate overreach. However, articles like this m

As someone who leans libertarian, I tend to shy away from rigid legislative solutions to social problems and corporate overreach. However, articles like this make me wonder if it isn't time for the government to step in and implement privacy regulations of some sort. I did not consent to have my movements tracked and ads sold to me by privately owned kiosks all over my city of residence. OTOH, I don't know if I would trust the current government to implement such protections in a way that isn't self serving and possibly counterproductive. Shitshow all around.

berbec 8y ago
I could see the current government implementing strong privacy controls to protect your personal data from bad actors who doesn't donate enough to reelection campaigns. Not a right or left thing either; I believe both sides sell themselves shamelessly.
matklnz 8y ago
I always read these like "as someone who leans libertarian, I'm starting to realise libertarianism is a bad idea"
- allthenews 8y ago
  Perhaps I accept that there are more than 2-5 dimensions in the sphere of politics, and that occasionally one must compromise because no singular philosophy is perfect in all circumstances. That doesn't mean that an entire political ideology is at fault. The modern political system would be far better off without this kind of (engineered?) rigid thinking.
- bduerst 8y ago
  I think most ex-libertarians eventually realized that (most of the time) a smaller government just means a power vacuum that gets filled by other organizations that have the means but not the peoples' interests.
- njarboe 8y ago
  Taleb has an interesting take on why a person might state their position this way. He states he is: Libertarian at the global and national level. Republican at the state level. Democrat at the city level. Socialist at the club/neighborhood level. Communist at the family level. Makes quite a bit of sense to me. And if one does not realize one has this hierarchy of beliefs, it is hard to talk about ones politics. What do you call yourself if you hold such beliefs?
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    It was interesting in an earlier time. Today, that's just fancy clothes on a reactionary/right-wing philosophy, a really cynical worldview that creates nasty outcomes. Translation: - "Communist at the family level": I like total control. - "Socialist at the club level.": I like my religious denomination/tribe - "Democrat at the city level.": Bread and circus for the plebes, but no money or power. - "Republican at the state level.": Make sure my friends can make money. - "Libertarian at the national level": Keep government out of our lives, except when I want it in your life. - "Libertarian at the global level": These barbarians won't subscribe to our ideals of liberty. But, we have tanks to help deliver liberty to them. <enter fascism>
    - jerf 8y ago
      Yes, if you rewrite the meaning of every single word that someone uses, you can completely rewrite their original statement. That's not a terribly meaningful outcome. Are you sure you want to go with calling someone "reactionary", which generally labels you as fairly far left, but then just agreeing that "communism" is "total control"? I can imagine a person who can make all the statements you made and be self-consistent, but it's an awfully narrow window with a complicated shape.
  - beager 8y ago
    That "hierarchy" of beliefs just sounds selfish, with an interest in disproportionately consolidating resources in your proximity, but then demanding permissive access to them once they're at arms length. Of course, policies must be crafted differently to create a benefit at different levels, but that doesn't mean you can't have consistent philosophies.
scarface74 8y ago
There are solutions. If you have an iOS device running iOS 8 or later, it implements MAC address randomization by default. It’s also coming to Android. https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/08/android-p-feature-spotlight-per-network-mac-address-randomization-added-experimental-feature/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/08/android-p-feature-s...
snissn 8y ago
These Free LinkNYC kiosks are being installed by the nyc gov't... Am i missing something in your comment?

berbec 8y ago

I could see the current government implementing strong privacy controls to protect your personal data from bad actors who doesn't donate enough to reelection campaigns. Not a right or left thing either; I believe both sides sell themselves shamelessly.

matklnz 8y ago

I always read these like "as someone who leans libertarian, I'm starting to realise libertarianism is a bad idea"

allthenews 8y ago
Perhaps I accept that there are more than 2-5 dimensions in the sphere of politics, and that occasionally one must compromise because no singular philosophy is perfect in all circumstances. That doesn't mean that an entire political ideology is at fault. The modern political system would be far better off without this kind of (engineered?) rigid thinking.
bduerst 8y ago
I think most ex-libertarians eventually realized that (most of the time) a smaller government just means a power vacuum that gets filled by other organizations that have the means but not the peoples' interests.
njarboe 8y ago
Taleb has an interesting take on why a person might state their position this way. He states he is: Libertarian at the global and national level. Republican at the state level. Democrat at the city level. Socialist at the club/neighborhood level. Communist at the family level. Makes quite a bit of sense to me. And if one does not realize one has this hierarchy of beliefs, it is hard to talk about ones politics. What do you call yourself if you hold such beliefs?
- Spooky23 8y ago
  It was interesting in an earlier time. Today, that's just fancy clothes on a reactionary/right-wing philosophy, a really cynical worldview that creates nasty outcomes. Translation: - "Communist at the family level": I like total control. - "Socialist at the club level.": I like my religious denomination/tribe - "Democrat at the city level.": Bread and circus for the plebes, but no money or power. - "Republican at the state level.": Make sure my friends can make money. - "Libertarian at the national level": Keep government out of our lives, except when I want it in your life. - "Libertarian at the global level": These barbarians won't subscribe to our ideals of liberty. But, we have tanks to help deliver liberty to them. <enter fascism>
  - jerf 8y ago
    Yes, if you rewrite the meaning of every single word that someone uses, you can completely rewrite their original statement. That's not a terribly meaningful outcome. Are you sure you want to go with calling someone "reactionary", which generally labels you as fairly far left, but then just agreeing that "communism" is "total control"? I can imagine a person who can make all the statements you made and be self-consistent, but it's an awfully narrow window with a complicated shape.
- beager 8y ago
  That "hierarchy" of beliefs just sounds selfish, with an interest in disproportionately consolidating resources in your proximity, but then demanding permissive access to them once they're at arms length. Of course, policies must be crafted differently to create a benefit at different levels, but that doesn't mean you can't have consistent philosophies.

scarface74 8y ago

There are solutions. If you have an iOS device running iOS 8 or later, it implements MAC address randomization by default. It’s also coming to Android. https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/08/android-p-feature-spotlight-per-network-mac-address-randomization-added-experimental-feature/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/08/android-p-feature-s...

snissn 8y ago

These Free LinkNYC kiosks are being installed by the nyc gov't... Am i missing something in your comment?