Rich Graves wrote:
At 10:54 AM -0800 12/31/96, Timothy C. May wrote:
Our focus is more radical. We are effectively a cyber-militia, fulfilling Jefferson's recommendation that a revolution happen every 20 years. (Funny, there hasn't been one in more than 200 years.[snip] I would say that the street action which effectively eliminated legally mandated racial segregation about 25 years ago qualifies as a revolution.[snip] Cryptoanarchy, as envisioned here, is not about people mobbing in the streets. It's fundamentally about insulating oneself from the mobs in
Bill Frantz wrote: the streets. However, revolutions tend to have unintended consequences.[snip]
Looks like we're coming to the old "irresistable force meets immovable object" consensus, yes? The sheeple are going to plod along slowly and resistantly towards personal, "secure" encryption, while the rulers would rather eat their children than give up money. My guess is that the public (see: sheeple) is *never* going to become technically oriented, no matter how many gizmos or crypto programs they have and can use. Therefore, the rulers, possessing ever greater numbers and quality of intrusive devices, will inch forward toward total control, despite temporary advances by the sheeple. The (perfect) example of the 1960's revolution was vastly outweighed by: 1. Decapitation of any independent leadership, i.e., assassinations. 2. Co-opting of schools, businesses, media, welfare programs et al. 3. Tremendous advances in disinformation and propaganda technology which has no analogy amongst the general public. Some people think the Internet will help the average guy win back some freedom, but the reality is that capital is still being shifted away from the common folk to the wealthier folk, even as the Internet expands. The sheeple have had one (unintended) weapon on their side: The fact that the scumbag fed agencies and their beneficiaries have been fighting amongst themselves a lot (see: assassinations). This will instantly stop if the sheeple become a real threat. You won't believe how fast. It's the dream of every elitist that they will someday be able to enjoy a really comfortable and yet productive existence, where the non-elite are satisfied and happy with their jobs (or are somehow being supported without unduly burdening the elitists), and most important, are just comfortable enough that they won't riot (or at least won't riot in the elitist neighborhoods). Most likely the electronic implants and drugs (Soma, HDTV/3DTV) will alleviate most of the sheeple's unhappiness, so as to reduce the requirement for the elitists to give any more attention to these problems.