"Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men." ~~Ayn Rand
|
Years ago one of the running jokes
that Johnny Carson had on The Tonight
Show was that the television worked
both ways. We could see him and he
could see us. Today people don't
think that's quite so funny. They
own cell phones which allow one to
record live video while simultaneously
broadcasting it to the world. They
drive cars
which keep track of where they are
and probably how fast they are going
and can send help if the air-bag
deploys and can even talk with them.
It's no stretch of the imagination
to picture a television being able
to hear what one says and see what
one does since we can rig up our
desktop computers to do that now.
Do you think that trend of "smart" tools
and appliances will continue? I certainly
do. Can you easily picture the day
in the near future when someone can
use those appliances with their built-in
computers to see and hear what we
do whether we like it or not? I can,
too.
Some of those who read the novel "Invisible
Hand" are frightened by the
computer system that is integral
to that book. They associate the
money system proposed by "Invisible
Hand" with that computer always
watching and listening. They somehow
fear that the new kind of money being
suggested by that novel is what will
bring about a complete loss of privacy.
They are right that the loss of
privacy is coming. They are wrong
that the non-POM form of money is
what is bringing it. In fact, the
non-POM form of money is the
only thing which can let us maintain
and
protect our privacy. Non-POM defends our privacy.
There are many motives for others
to spy upon us and anyone who has
the money can buy tools and learn
techniques for spying. You can walk
into a store and purchase these tools,
no questions asked. Your government and
your boss can tap your phone and
your computer. Even if such activities
are against the law, people do them
today and few, if any, are punished.
So just making a law against invasion
of privacy will not prevent your
government or your employer or your
neighbor or your ex-husband or your
boyfriend or even your church from
taking away your privacy. If the
tools exist, they can be bought by
a POM, though one might have to pay
black market prices.
So how can a non-POM be any different?
Doesn't the accounts computer keep
track of all money earned and all
money spent and the property of every
individual? Doesn't the accounts
computer make public what you did
to earn that money? The answer is
yes. Of course it does. But are you
ashamed of owning property? When
you come out of your home in the
morning to get the newspaper aren't
you telling the world that you own
that house? When the accounts computer
makes available that you did a good
job and others benefited from your
actions are you ashamed of having
actually earned money by doing good
things? These are not things that
any rational person would try to
hide. In fact, we buy expensive homes
and cars and clothing to show others
what good people we are.
But let's go deeper. In a non-POM
economy people are paid for the net
benefit of the consequences of their
actions. Is your loss of personal
privacy a benefit or a loss? I think
we all feel that it is a loss. I
don't want people to watch me in
the bathroom or bedroom or even when
I'm just sitting around the house.
If I put up a fence or wall around
my back yard, I want that to keep
people
from seeing me when I go there. I
think most people feel the same way
I do about these matters. Therefore,
if someone helps others to spy on
me, I want that to cost them money.
Not just the person who did the spying
but the persons who provided the
tools to do the spying. I think that
the Payers would see it that way
as well. Therefore, those people
who make the tools for spying would
be very careful about who gets access
to those tools. Thus, lots of people
would be paid for protecting my privacy
and that of everyone else.
But what about that computer system?
It controls lots of cameras and microphones.
That is coming whether we like it
or not no matter what kind of money
we use. If we still have a POM then
we can expect that system to
be used to control us and to exploit
us because
people can gain money by doing so.
People will pay programmers to write
the code that lets someone spy on
us. People will pay the computer
manufacturers and their employees
for making the microphones and cameras
and putting them in our appliances.
People will pay to get access to
data about us. And you know that
a law or two or even a thousand will
not prevent it from happening. It
will
be done legally or illegally and
almost certainly by the police and
other government agencies.
A non-POM society, on the other
hand, will pay programmers to write
code that prevents your personal
information from being accessed by
anyone without your consent. Since
the security of your information
is a good thing and its falling into
the wrong hands constitutes harm
to you, people will earn money by
protecting
your
information and failing to protect
your information will cost them money.
This is completely different from
a POM economy in that no one can
earn money as a result of invading
your privacy. No one can buy your
information. No one can use money
to bribe those who might be able
to gain access to your information.
Sure people can make errors and have
accidents but the results of such
mistakes are unlikely to destroy
your privacy. Those who discover
such an accident will be paid for
correcting the problem with minimal
damage. No mass media can make money
by spreading word of your private
life. In fact, it would cost them
lots of money to do so.
The computer system in a non-POM
society would be the strongest supporter
of your privacy because it puts you
in control of the information that
is made available to the world. Doing
things while an appliance is watching
would be like having a cat watch
you. It sees but it just doesn't
care. It may remember but it isn't
going to tell anyone. And like a
faithful dog it will summon help
if you have a problem. The "I've
fallen and I can't get up" situation
would have the computer system trying
to send help since the programmers
would get paid for its doing that.
Finally, today the most common motivation
for invading the privacy of others
is monetary. One can earn money today
by doing so. That motive is eliminated
in a non-POM society because there's
no way to make money by prying into
others lives. No one can hire you
to pry.
Previous: Responsibility
Next: The Tragedy of the Commons is Common
Ready to discuss the book and articles? Please join us at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pomeducation/.
Care to comment? Please click here to email us!
|