The "P" Word? You Know, Privacy & Psecurity.

The Lives of Others: Set in 1984, this East German film opens by stating that the goal of the GDR‘s secret police (known as Stasi), was “To know everything about everyone”. Being wired the way I am, the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this statement was (surprise!) DARPA’s late “Total Information Awareness” (TIA) program.

This film is a moving portrayal of the ends to which the Stasi’s goal of “knowing everything about everyone” was used and how it affected the lives of all those involved: what begins as a detached, methodical and thoroughly implacable approach for dealing with enemies of the state at the beginning of the movie becomes a deadly tool that is wielded capriciously by a priveledged party boss.

I won’t pretend to write a review of this movie, as I’m certain that you can find far more eloquent and insightful reviews of this movie than I have the time or talent for.

So what then, does this movie have to do with the “P” word? Just these two thoughts: most tools have unintended uses and abuses, while absolute power corrupts absolutely. Though they did not lack for zeal, or power, the Stasi were real pen-and-paper, hammer-and-chisel type plodders. Just think of what they (or any other state) could accomplish if we were to add networked computers and databases to the mix.

Now consider this: in the U.S., we’ve lived with years of non-stop “code orange” alerts (especially in airports), along with a war declared on a state of mind which has no · definitive · end nor possibility for sucess and you have an environment in which ideas like Total Information Awareness can flourish.

So see the movie, then pull out your mental voodoo doll of your least favorite political figure and contemplate what life would be like if they had the power that “knowing everything about everyone” implies.