Re: Politics do not belong here
Jer- I'm sorry, but I feel so strongly about your message "Politics do not belong on this list" that I was compelled to reply... Where else should the poltical implications of encryption be discussed, if not amongst those who are most involved in its creation and proliferation? The political use and misuse of power is central to the issues regarding encryption, and these ramifications should be discussed as the technology is in its infancy. Encryption technology can be used as a tool to empower the individual, or it can be used as a means to lend a false security to the individual in his communications. If in fact the Clipper Chip with its easily obtainable (by government agencies) escrow keys is allowed to be implimented, we may in fact be assisting the government to effect a survelliance state of a maginitude never before seen in society. As American homes become host to "interactive" technologies, we need to realize the increased ability this brings for surveillance by both government and capitalistic enterprises. Encryption is one viable solution to re-instate the privacy equlibrium in the face of such a condition- this is where its power lies. Encryption, then, is not merely a mathematical tool, but also a sociological one; to discuss merely the technological and not the social and moral implications of this techology would be to not realize its full potential as a mediator to the coming state of "Big Brother is watching You". Politics, then, is not periferal but central to the discussion of encryption technology. Julie __________________________________________________________________________ Julie M. Albright Ph.D Student Department of Sociology University of Southern California albright@netcom.com
Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 2-Apr-94 Re: Politics do not belong.. by Julietta@chaph.usc.edu
I'm sorry, but I feel so strongly about your message "Politics do not belong on this list" that I was compelled to reply...
[.. stuff that I agree with follows ..] Many apologies. Aparently I was not clear enough in defining what I meant by politics. I was refering to bickering about the correctness of liberals or conservatives, left or right, etc. Cryptography is political, a point which I alluded to in my original post, but unless you're in the Cryptoparty or the Big Brother party, which party line you subscribe to matters little. Politicly, cypherpunks is a one-issue list, and flaming about "my party is better than yours" serves only to clog peoples' mailboxes and create discord. I'm not quite sure I'm being clear here (it's kinda late), what I mean to say is that IMO, you should check your non-crypto-related idealogy at the login prompt when posting to this list. Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 2-Apr-94 Re: Politics do not belong .. by Greg Broiles@ideath.gold
I don't think there is one agenda shared by all list subscribers. As I see it, "cypherpunks" follows the Earth First! model of (dis/anti) organization - there are no leaders, there is no "policy", there is no voting, there is no platform.
Saying that Earth First! doesn't have an agenda is, as I see it, wrong. They exist to protect the environment. As in any organization, they are not homogeneous, but there is an underlying direction. The same with cypherpunks. The very name implies some sort of drive towards widespread strong encryption. Not everyone agrees on how to go about it, but one can definatly perceive an agenda (probably "thrust" is a better word). Greg Broiles continues...
Our differences and disagreements are significant but they can also distract us from shared goals.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Jer darklord@cmu.edu | "it's not a matter of rights / it's just a matter of war finger me for my | don't have a reason to fight / they never had one before" Geek Code and | -Ministry, "Hero" PGP public key | http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr25/jbde/
Many apologies. Aparently I was not clear enough in defining what I meant by politics. I was refering to bickering about the correctness of liberals or conservatives, left or right, etc.
Well, now that we've gotten THAT straightened out.. I guess its always helpful to be clear in one's wording, hmm? Hopefully this will be the end of this thread- I'll go back to lurking again for now. By the way- am reading 1984 again- I think we should definetly get those NSA shirts out "We're just running a little late"! Scary! Ciao for now.. Julie ____________________________________________________________________________ Julie Albright Ph.D Student Department of Sociology University of Southern California albright@netcom.com
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Jeremiah A Blatz -
Julietta