In the 1950's, we reached the point where a single individual could induce global catastrophe through atomic weapons. We have been living under that Sword of Damocles for over half a century. However, we are now reaching the point where a private individual without state backing could achieve nearly the same effect, whether through pathogens or computer malware. A fairly small cabal of determined individuals could also achieve the same ends through acquisition of existing nuclear weapon stocks in Pakistan, North Korea, or Russia.
Regardless of the how or why, we're approaching a point where genocide can be accessible to the common man. And what is our response to this inevitability? Openly, we ignore it, just like we've ignored the atomic weaponry scattered around the world for 60+ years. Privately, I suspect that the curtailment of civil liberties and increase in surveillance states this century is in part a response to those existential threats. The fact that private information is also a medium of exchange among the new, data-driven elite is just a market incentive to accelerate the ascension of the digital police state.
I don't think I'm going to like the answer, regardless of whether the question can be answered.
However, that doesn't prevent others from formulating an answer.
Authoritarianism, thought to be on the wane at the end of the last century, is definitely back in vogue. Countries like China have long proven that economic freedom and individual freedom are separable, and the authoritarian-populist-nationalist wave sweeping the globe shows that such ideas have appeal for the under-employed masses, with the traditional excuse of "If you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to be afraid of" sufficing for many.
The genius of data-gathering smartphone apps lies in the fact that, not only have we consented to being watched, but that we seek it out and will pay for the privilege of privacy violation. Who knows? You might go viral and make millions! Who cares about privacy? It's insidiously brilliant.
Of course, I too use a smartphone and have a car with a GPS tracker in it - most cars newer than a certain vintage do. I don't see myself as a hypocrite for pointing all these things out - merely that one should be aware of the underlying reasons why, for instance, social media websites are free (Answer: they sell user data).
However, that doesn't prevent others from formulating an answer.
Authoritarianism, thought to be on the wane at the end of the last century, is definitely back in vogue. Countries like China have long proven that economic freedom and individual freedom are separable, and the authoritarian-populist-nationalist wave sweeping the globe shows that such ideas have appeal for the under-employed masses, with the traditional excuse of "If you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to be afraid of" sufficing for many.
The genius of data-gathering smartphone apps lies in the fact that, not only have we consented to being watched, but that we seek it out and will pay for the privilege of privacy violation. Who knows? You might go viral and make millions! Who cares about privacy? It's insidiously brilliant.
Of course, I too use a smartphone and have a car with a GPS tracker in it - most cars newer than a certain vintage do. I don't see myself as a hypocrite for pointing all these things out - merely that one should be aware of the underlying reasons why, for instance, social media websites are free (Answer: they sell user data).
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