Question 1
The prehistoric era that was marred with relentless of cases of slavery later became a major concern for the world and the philosophers who attempted to apply their wisdom to create sensitization in the society and also pass messages. The world was entangled in a relentless dispute over the issues of discrimination against race and the use of Africans for slave related activities by the white supremacists. However, the beginning of later centuries marked the quest for freedom and the fight against the oppression of any nature (Marcuse, 1964). During the period, many philosophers came to the picture and used their critical knowledge to change the society. It is essential to highlight the precursor of the wise words of the philosophers of the era that remained a legacy to many people and the society at large thus acted as an inspiration to the liberalists to relentlessly pursue freedom.
In the light of the quote by Herbert Marcuse and his compatriot Goethe, it is important to create the memories of the past as applicable in modern-day society. The 21st century came as a period in which many people had seen freedom and liberty of all manners. However, the era only created a misconstrued realism of democratic dispensation in which the slaves now had the “freedom” to engage in decisive processes like voting (Marcuse, 1964). In this, they believed to be free and were now authorized to exercise their rights with little interference. In the contrast, the 21st century has seen a new form of slavery through economic policies that put certain parts of the world under the arms of the modern economic controllers. The global governance scheme through the creation of economic institutions like World Bank and the International Criminal Court epitomizes a new form of imperialism that amounts to slavery. The world is technically under the control of political and economic supreme that continue to show their claws in pursuit of selfish interest under the umbrella of freedom. Moreover, the advocating of democratic elections has still not saved the world from the dictatorship that is equally a manifestation of slavery. Despite the democratic electoral processes for choosing leadership, the forms of slavery that existed then are still evident in the 21st century though in varied magnitude. It leads to the conclusion that people are in the false sense of liberty that is a merely choreographed ideology of neocolonial imperialism.
References
Marcuse, H. (1964). One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society. 3-57. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
Question 2
In the view of Brin, there is a continuous dispute between freedom and privacy in a bid to create a better society that serves the desires of every individual. The question of whether the technology will create the need to choose either remains subject to debate. Brin’s arguments are mainly concerned with the much-advocated privacy that disregards the fundamental human rights and the desire to exercise self with minimal impediment. It is critical for the society to understand the underlying facts behind the advocacy for privacy more than freedom due to the sensitive nature of either (Brin, n.d.). Brin argues that there is the need to for free society where one is given access to every necessary freedom and the authority to make decisions about private issues. In this argument, Brin asserts that the overwhelming quest by activists and a section of the society is a clear undermines to the fundamental need for freedom. With the growing technological advancements, it is critical protecting information against the people has become more difficult and there are signs that the society might be torn between freedom and privacy (Brin, n.d.). Brin asserts that transparency remains the core necessity for the society thus it overrides the quest for privacy. It is important to understand that transparency and accountability remain the main preserves of the society. While he acknowledges the importance of privacy, he’s critical of the strong privacy advocates for lending a myopic view of accountability as a core value towards the realization of privacy. He asserts that accountability that is enshrined in freedom remains a necessity to the society as opposed to privacy that might be used to conceal the truth from the people. Therefore, it is important to have both.
References
Brin, D. (n.d.). The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? 323-378. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
Question 3
The raging dispute between security and privacy elicited debate of all kinds with many arguing that the attempts to hide something are definitely the reason many people are concerned about government surveillance. Despite the current discussion, it is essential to create the hypothetical analogy of the need to feel secure and the ultimate good of privacy. As many argue, it is important for the society to embrace security over privacy thus revelations about the NSA issue on metadata surveillance should never be a worry due to its security orientation. However, the sense and the flawed nature of such arguments bring me to the point that having both security and privacy is more important than choosing between the two. In this regard, it is critical to highlight that privacy and security can be guaranteed as a package rather than singular.
Taking into account the nature of the society that is characterized by numerous cases of insecurity, it is important for the government to be a watchdog to human activities on the technologies. However, a great danger lies in this form of security concern, and it can equally be insecure. First, security comes as a result of enmity. However, enmity is not a preserve of the government, and anybody can have enemies including the government. As enshrined in the Bill of Rights, it is important for people to exercise private activities without fear of breach. The law requires that such endeavors are executed by the consent of the victim and doing it without that consent is a blatant breach of constitutionality and fundamental freedom of speech and association.
