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Three Cheers for the Surveillance Society

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Three Cheers for the Surveillance Society

By: David Brin
Narrated by: David Brin
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About this listen

Surveillance. It is used by every tyranny to lock in place an uneven arrangement of power. When the mighty know all about you but common folk know little in reverse, then without accountability you can only have despotism, as shown by 6,000 years of recorded history.

But new technologies do not have to lock in perpetual Big Brother. The spread of tools like cheap cameras and instant sharing might lead to the antidote against Big Brother. That is, if we learn the lessons taught by both history and science. The answer is not to hide from elites but to hold them accountable with light.

©2004 David Brin (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Social Sciences
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An essential counterpoint to the prevailing attitude that surveillance is the problem. The real problem is lack of accountability and this short piece shows how we can watch the powerful rather than hide from them.

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