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The exploration of his motivations could have been deeper. I suspect the basic problem in espionage work is that being interested in it at all is precisely the
by motohagiography 6y ago
The exploration of his motivations could have been deeper. I suspect the basic problem in espionage work is that being interested in it at all is precisely the reason not to hire someone to do it. I'm imagining a trade off where either you take some very earnest people who want to serve their country and then manage the risk of disillusioning them, or you find a cluster of people who really just get off on deception and find a way to somehow exploit them.
I can say I harbour no envy for any of them.
- the_af 6y ago> I suspect the basic problem in espionage work is that being interested in it at all is precisely the reason not to hire someone to do it Interesting way to put it, I hadn't thought about it this way. It sounds analogous to what is argued in "The Rise of the Warrior Cop" (about cop militarization and abuse in the US): that the people more enthusiastic about combat gear and working in a SWAT-like unit are exactly the kind of people who shouldn't be allowed in those units.
- lb1lf 6y ago"It is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." -Douglas Adams
- MomoXenosaga 6y agoThe people working in spy craft must be pretty cynical. I imagine the CIA is more about realpolitik. Doing whatever it takes to keep America ahead. You don't need to have an existential crisis torturing someone when you know that your Chinese counterpart is doing the same. You only get disillusioned if you believe the facade.