This first appeared on LinkedIn.
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Before we begin, check this out.
Now, to those who think the FTC’s US$5B fine on Facebook has anything to do with guarding the citizen’s right to privacy, I have two words: You’re cute.
OK, I know that’s two and a half, but nuance kills punchlines. Hairsplitting apart, here is a little history lesson regarding what the fight is all about.
The Peace of Westphalia which established today’s nation-states was about who gets sovereignty over the people living on a specific piece of land. Is it the King or the Pope? The summary is that the Pope lost, and countries were born as political entities, something that survives to this day. Some historians seem to look at this as a victory for citizens (because it also resulted in, as a by-product, the separation of church and state, paving the way for the modern republic). However, the citizens’ well-being or rights were the last things on the minds of the negotiators, all of whom were simply concerned with dividing the very same citizens (and their rights) up as if these were objects or tokens or fake currency in a game of Monopoly. Who gets the temporal rights on the physical being of the people? Who owns their soul? Who can collect tax? Who gets the tithe? Who owns the land? Who has a monopoly over violence and thus, an army? What is considered internal matter? What is international? And so on. Basically, the citizens were mere pawns in the game of who gets to own them. It was only later, through sheer serendipity, that we find ourselves in democratic republics that are by, of, and for the people. The 17th-century treaties just happened to be the foundation of what we enjoy, not out of design, but in spite of it.
So, back to the topic of the FTC fine. Do you think the whole brouhaha is about concerns for safeguarding your privacy as a citizen? No. It is about WHO gets to invade it. It is about WHO gets to molest your rights. It is about WHO gets to control what you see, hear, read, and write. It is about WHO gets to read your thoughts, manipulate your mind, and plant ideas to steer your thinking in a certain direction. This is a battle royale between the government and the corporate for the control of your soul, in every way you want to look at it. This is Westphalia all over again.
Will it last? I am not sure. But I did write about it some 10 years ago. I think that we are going the full circle, with corporates slowly becoming stronger and stronger until they surpass the power of the political authority of the country they do business in, and then, who knows what will happen. We have seen it in the Russian revolution, the French, the East India Company’s takeover of the subcontinent, and many other incidents in recent history. Whatever happens though, one thing is certain: The future’s uncertain…and the end is always near.
And to top it all, the future makes as much sense as this song. So, sit back, relax, and let the Monday blues be washed away in song. For who knows what tomorrow holds?
