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> The government having this much information on people creates an information asymmetry in society that makes the state incomparably powerful relative to priva
by anoncake 7y ago
> The government having this much information on people creates an information asymmetry in society that makes the state incomparably powerful relative to private citizens.
Government, in a democratic society, is simply the citizens wielding their power collectively. It cannot possibly be more powerful than the citizens it serves.
- CryptoPunk 7y agoA democratic system of rules doesn't mean a democratic distribution of power. Rules rarely have their intended effect 100%. In all democracies, elites form, which wield far more political power, and derive far more benefit from government, than voters. Even in a perfectly democratic society, giving the majority, acting collectively through their government, so much power over individuals would be dangerous, because it would create enormous rent-seeking opportunities for those who wield the most influence over public opinion and because it would endanger persecuted minorities.