Hi, I have a thesis that it is the development of technology that has, over the last 100 years, eroded the basis for and appreciation of human freedom. Technology has also done precious little for advancing human freedoms (although cryptography may be an exception). Let's first define freedom as the ability of people to do things without forceful interference from the government. This is an arbitrary definition, but it appears to be useful for the analysis below. First of all, 200 years ago it was very hard for lone people to endanger lives of themselves and many others. For example, the only weapons that were available were single shot and double shot rifles that were very slow to reload. Similarly, people did not have fast moving vehicles and any traffic did not present serious danger for innocent bystanders. Poison gases were not available, and the explosives technology was far less advanced. Even if it was possible to set up a large explosion, limitations in building construction made them useless. "Hard drugs" also became available only in the recent past [please correct me] due to advancements in chemistry and medicine. You can well imagine that airline terrorism could not appear before airlines. No doubt that I only touched upon a very small percentage of newly existent dangers that are created by the technology. At the same time, developments in technology made it easy to spy on and brainwash citizens. TV, which is the ultimate brainwashing machine, came in play only very recently. The wiretapping is new also. It is the remoteness feature of "bugs" that made spying so much cheaper than hiring "stukachi" -- snitches. If you ride a horse, there is no perceived need for an airbag or a mandatory horse insurance. If all houses are 1 story tall, nobody is afraid of an OK City type explosion. With the advent of technology, the balance of perceived social needs and government capabilities shifted radically, and it shifted away from the great freedoms of the past. The public perception of freedom now is that freedom is inherently dangerous and is a threat to the public itself. Is that an evil CoNspiRaCY of purebred sovoks and Zion agents or it is a natural consequence of inventions that dramatically changed the place of the man in the world? I am not sure. - Igor.