[lurk2]

> There is a ground-level appeal of the China-style panopticon because it delivers public order and clean streets.

Correct.

> Larry didn't just buy his way to digital dictator by bribing the right people

Incorrect.

> it answers a question in a way other people are avoiding, because answering it requires a lot of work and uncomfortable tradeoffs.

Larry Ellison is not interested in public order. The surveillance system isn’t going to be for normal people, it’s going to be for Larry Ellison. California isn’t filthy because it lacks a panopticon; it was cleaned for visiting Chinese dignitaries without one. If Ellison had wanted to clean up the street and has the appeal you think that he does, he could have just run for governor.