thanks felix, 

very interesting! but you are not entirely correct on this:

> 
> Fast forward 30 years. Many countries, including Germany, no longer conduct 
> national censuses because the data has already been collected and can be 
> aggregated flexibly from the various databases at the heart of government. 

it is true that there is no "classic" census anymore with people ringing at 
your door, asking questions about the number of people in the household. but 
there will be quite soon a census in germany as part of the eu-wide census: 
record day is 4th of May 2011. but of course your main point is true: despite 
of some control samples the data will be mainly taken from existing communal 
records.

nevertheless german scientists have already complained that some decisive 
information will not be gathered by this census: for example which languages 
are being spoken in a respective household. so obviously we have not yet 
arrived in cybernetic society which is controlled and regulated in real time, 
although a merger of google and germany might produce some synergy here.

best,
ulrich

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