Читать книгу THE LIFEBOAT STRATEGY - Mark Nestmann - Страница 36

What are the most significant threats to privacy and wealth in the 21st century?

As annoying as the proliferation of surveillance technologies are in private hands, a larger danger exists when governments use these technologies. There is a long history of private-public surveillance partnerships, as you’ll learn in Chapter 2. These partnerships, many of them occurring out of the public eye, have already resulted in significant losses of privacy and autonomy.

The biggest danger of all occurs when a population is conditioned to demand greater surveillance as the price for “security.” This is precisely the threat today, as the United States and other countries systematically dismantle longstanding protections for privacy and civil liberties to fight a poorly defined war on terrorism.

As you learn more about the global network of technology and law, keep in mind that you’re not helpless to protect yourself. You can still make purchases with currency, deactivate your Facebook account, avoid disclosing your Social Security number, and employ additional defensive strategies you’ll learn about in Chapters 3-5. And if you’re tired of dealing with increasingly pervasive surveillance in your own country, you can move to another country where the government lacks the desire – or at least the financial capacity – to impose surveillance on the scale they do at home.

As we move ahead, I’ll show you simple techniques to stop identity thieves in their tracks, make your wealth legally disappear from the surveillance “radar screen,” and understand how to protect wealth you simply can’t afford to lose. But first, we’ll take a closer look at the impact that global surveillance networks have on your privacy and wealth.