A national id was first and foremost for visual and ephemeral verification in exceptional circumstances. If no record is stored (e.g. a supermarket worker brie

A national id was first and foremost for visual and ephemeral verification in exceptional circumstances. If no record is stored (e.g. a supermarket worker briefly verifying an alcohol purchase), it is not totalitarian. Making a copy of the id, like PayPal wants, is more sketchy, but at least this is banking. Requiring an id that is stored in a database for minor transactions like buying a sandwich is definitely totalitarian.