Book Review: Surveillance Nation by David Merkel, CFA of The Aleph Blog
After I married my wife, I met her cousin and his wife, who was a Marxist. Oddly, I found we had a lot of areas of agreement, because we both distrusted the powers that be. In the same manner, what does a libertarian like me have to do with liberals like those who write for “The Nation?”
The answer is a lot. There is a tendency for the political middle of the US to simply trust the politicians, assuming they are doing good. It is more accurate to assume that they are pursuing the goals of the ek=lite in the US. The Wealthy will do well; the rest of us, meh.
We need to be concerned about what data the government gathers on us, because it may infringe upon our constitutional rights. Personally, I would end the CIA, NSA, and FBI. Let chaos pursue us, and after that, let’s figure out what security we need.
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I do not trust our government. There is too much power, and too little transparency.
As for Surveillance Nation, it was prescient with respect to the US government collecting data on average citizens. We live in an era when our actions are no longer private, unless we are rich enough and clever enough to conceal it.
I highly recommend Surveillance Nation. It points out the errors of the US government as it aims toward secrecy, when it should disclose the information.
Quibbles
As time goes on the arguments verge from arguing for the common man, to arguing for the different man.
Summary
Many people would benefit from this book. It will teach you about how we are all losing our freedom of speech bit-by-bit. If you want to, you can buy it here: Surveillance Nation.
Full disclosure: The PR flack asked me if I would like a copy and I said “yes.”
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