This is an interesting idea. On the one hand I'm outraged by what the protesters are doing and want to see them brought to justice. The idea of using mobile loc

This is an interesting idea. On the one hand I'm outraged by what the protesters are doing and want to see them brought to justice. The idea of using mobile location data to retroactively find who the looters are and persecute them for their crimes is satisfying to some degree. On the other hand, it's a very terrifying pandora's box which could allow the surveillance state to reach new levels of intrusion. It's even scarier to think that reconnaissance satellites are now actually really good and can probably trace you even in the dead-of-night. So, even if you left your phone at home to avoid location-tracking, just the act of venturing outside your house creates a tracking-trail as exposed by satellite imagery. Theoretically, law enforcement could use this data as of today to persecute the looters. Again, satisfying in a way, but also scary to think about. How libertarian do we really want to be? I think the goal should be to opt for whatever leads to the greatest good for the greatest number of people. There's a spectrum, on one hand you have free libertarianism, and on the other, you have authoritarinism and strict social control. It's interesting to watch how states on different sides of the spectrum operate; namely, the contrast between liberties for citizens in the US and China. Which one is better? In the US we operate under the premise that we should ensure our liberties are upheld at all costs; yet, this comes at a severe cost. China's authoritarian approach allows them to withstand epidemics in ways that we couldn't even dream to; and, overall, their centralized approach will allow them to surpass the US in terms of economic output. They also enjoy much lower levels of crime as measured by many different data points. In many ways I think the non-libertarian approach to life there will eventually lead most people to living better lives overall. Not saying that their approach is correct; but it's just interesting to think about.