[tezza]

"Absolute knowledge is absolute power and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

This is simply not true, rather a cobbled together bit of psychobabble.

Okay... I have absolute knowledge a freight train is coming towards me and I'm tied to the rail. I clearly do not therefore have absolute power to change the outcome.

The government could likewise know everything and not be able to stop a bad outcome ( say their overthrow ).

---

Nicolae Ceaușescu had an impressive surveillance state... it didn't stop him being shot ( in the street? ) along with his wife

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu

[Ensorceled]

Oh please. This is childish pedantry, please refute the quote in it's context of government leadership and NOT create a lame scenario where the actual rules don't apply.

If I have absolute power I am NOT going to end up tied to a train track with the Secret Service strangely absent.

The point in this article is that if we are digitally dependent being off the grid, or using an encrypted grid, IS information that can be used to stop an overthrow. You can't be an unstoppable force if you can't coordinate and organize.

[tezza]

At the risk of increasing my flame-downvote surface...

> The point in this article is that if we are digitally dependent being off the grid, or using an encrypted grid, IS information that can be used to stop an overthrow. You can't be an unstoppable force if you can't coordinate and organize.

Well then why didn't the author just say that? Rather than padding his point with psycho-babble ?

[saraid216]

> used to stop an overthrow

I thought we weren't creating lame scenarios where the actual rules don't apply.

[mtgx]

Yes...after 40 years in power and needing a revolution to do it, where many people died.

The point is, you should never allow a president or a group of people, to get even close to that much power, if you're going to need a revolution to stop it later.

[mathattack]

I think the context here is different than the strength of the quote. The context is about the government knowing everyone's petty mistakes in life, or Achilles heal. If they know this for everyone, then they can push or manipulate people as they see fit.

[tezza]

I don't agree with the context either.

1) If the Government has a problem with you, then a few IM chat records and your pr0n site subscription history will be the least of your problems.

Previously 'undesirables' would be tailed by agents or a private eye.

2) They can simply frame you. Child pr0n planted on your computer somehow, hell even your best friends / wife would disown you.

3) Is "recording more" either "finding needles" or just "making the haystack bigger" ?

[mpyne]

Yeah, that's pretty scary... I can only imagine what would happen if we were foolish enough to give a government even more dangerous stuff, like millions of small arms, heavy weaponry, or even nuclear weapons. Why, the sheer power would probably instantly turn them into a dystopia.

[alan_cx]

Wouldn't mind so much if that information was known about the politicians that their minions. What have they got to hide?

Heh, and if they are pure, clean and perfect, who the hell do they represent?

If they know it about us, we should damn well know it about them.

[Shorel]

This is exactly the same as the often repeated in F1: 'anything can happen'.

It is meaningless out of context.