Ignoble Privacy

Private and/or Secret

The misuse or neglect of privacy privileges is a major source of suffering. The concept of entitlement to multiple standards of conduct is a common expression of avoidable inefficiency. It is unfortunate that some who aspire to power would encourage such behavior. Nevertheless it is quite common.

"She rationalizes that such secrecy is justifiable for security reasons. The unintended consequence is that to the degree she doubts her pure intent, she suspects others on the grounds that 'it is what people do.'"

"If I understand this then, you are suggesting we might want to look more closely at the possibility that her behavior may have been co-opted by those with a different agenda competitive with ours?"

"At the very least, it seems to be a particularly attractive test case. We already know that complete openness is not optimal. But how do we define what is appropriately private?"

© 2010 Buzz Hill