[liberationtech] Sociological studies of covert mass-surveillance organisations

[Caspar Bowden (lists)]

On 09/01/13 22:21, Guido Witmond wrote:
> ...
> Before the revelations and the subsequent confirmations, many people
> would rather believe the old truth (having nothing to hide) than to live
> with the new truth that they've been misled.
>
> Truth hurts. That's the reason why so many people claim they have
> nothing to hide. It's emotional.

And often the people claiming this most loudly are politicians, because 
the clamour for "transparency" into every detail of a political 
candidate's private life has made this imperative.

We should be afraid of that tendency, because if the only people 
prepared to go into public life are those whose interior life is so dull 
or non-existent that they really have nothing to hide, then it is 
certain we will be ruled by philosophical zombies with a sub-normal 
sense of empathy and self-awareness. I'd rather elect a hypocrite any day

Caspar