On Mon, 2013-06-17 at 09:19 -0600, Steve Smith wrote: > > > >> Technology encourages the concentration of control in the same way that > >> it encourages the concentration of wealth. > I agree that this *can* happen and often *does* happen. I'd be > interested in a broader discussion of the mechanisms. The "simple" > answers seem obvious to me, but I suspect there are more subtle/complex > ones?
Well, I don't know how subtle it is. But it seems to me that the trend of "steadily giving up our privacy via technology" isn't at all a conscious act. People simply didn't/don't think very hard about what they're giving up when they, e.g., upload pictures of their food or retweet tweets from @anonymous (or whoever). I often argue that more ubiquitous technology like mortgage loans systemically centralize power into the hands of the people who understand how mortgages work. Even the people growing in power (loan officers, real estate agents, etc.) usually don't realize that the technology is what gives them their power, much less that the power is being concentrated into them. Another point is highlighted by the article Owen posted. The mere concept that Google, Apple, or Microsoft might be _defending_ us vassals from the government by publishing the government requests for data is laughable ... to me. But I am often wrong. And I know lots of people who are implicitly pro-corporation. They're loyalty runs very deep to some corporations or their "faces" in the sense of a brand. "Great taste! No! Less filling!" comes to mind. Or the provincial loyalty to Ford vs. Chevy or Coke vs. Pepsi. The process grows more complex with "green" or non-GMO food labeling, or charity-based corporations like neuman's own or ben & jerry's and ideology-proximal corporations like credo or progressive insurance. This "corporations vs. the government" vibe is great for stoking those old brand loyalties. But all it really does (I think) is concentrate power into the hands of the corporations. And since there's only the thinnest veil between corporations and government, it brings us closer to fascism. Yes, I just asserted that if you claim to like Miller better than Budweiser, or vice versa, then you support a fascist government. ;-) I have to go to great extents to keep my non-sequitur master certification. The only way out is to claim both are garbage beer and head over to 2nd Street for some real beer. -- ⇒⇐ glen e. p. ropella Root up the trees caress the dirt ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
