3 ms·
"Privacy, then, is not the trumpeting of the individual against society’s interests, but the protection of the individual based on society’s own norms and value
by MarkHarmon 13y ago
"Privacy, then, is not the trumpeting of the individual against society’s interests, but the protection of the individual based on society’s own norms and values."
Was it intended to be "Privacy, then, is not the trumpeting of the individual against society’s interests, but the protection of the individual FROM society’s own norms and values."?
I want to make sure I'm understanding the concept. The original means to me that the individual is protected by the norms and values of society. The revised version means the individual is protected from society's norms and values. It seems like both should be true.
- mkruso 13y agoWhile I agree with your last statement, I don't think the author made a mistake. His point here is that privacy is about more than protecting the individual for the individual's sake. In context of the preceding paragraphs: Etzioni viewed privacy as a battle between the interests of individuals and society. Dewey proposed that privacy is also a social interest, not just an individual interest. The author is agreeing with the latter: "the value of protecting the individual is a social one." Really, this means both of your interpretations. A society with privacy values protecting individuals from some of its other norms and values. I've never heard of these people before reading this, and I'm not trying to be pedantic. Just my textual interpretation. [edit - for clarity, but I may have made it worse.]