chronos

A 10 year old article that is still very relevant. I recommend reading it.

While it’s plain to see I have a civil libertarian streak, my political beliefs are best defined by the concept of domination systems that this article describes. I don’t subscribe myself to the opinion that it’s just the government I should be wary of or just the corporations I have to deal with, I feel we should be aware of the impacts of all power structures and act accordingly in this imperfect world in an effort to preserve personal freedom.

The fact that there isn’t very much on the Internet that looks at modern-day events with this lens is pretty strange to me, though not particularly surprising since it originates from a theologian as opposed to a political philosopher or economic scholar.

Despite this article being a decade old, the popularization of software that preserves personal privacy is still at the same state. The advice given here is pretty spot-on, but the only current effort I’ve seen that matches the advice given, as far as implementation is concerned, is through the projects of Whisper Systems by Moxie Marlinspike, but even then, we have a long way to go.

Usable software must spring into place if we want any efforts of a free Internet to go forward, whether it’s in private communications, or the creation of decentralized systems that prevent any single entities from gaining too much power over the way we communicate.

(Originally shared on my Google Reader feed)

“Voting is the least effective strategy for having a say in society. You can vote once or twice a year, but it’s what you do every day that counts. Don’t abdicate your power to so-called representatives - take responsibility for the ways you can change the world yourself.”

This was a pamphlet released by CrimethInc back in 2004 advocating direct action as the mechanism for enacting change in your communities, instead of solely having faith in our political system. It still rings true today, I recommend giving it a read.