Raj Mudhar 543545
Ms. McLean
ENG4U0-T
May 25, 2016
Knowledge Equals Power
Espionage opens a pathway for people who seek power and in general, those in power stay in power once they know what everyone is doing. According to history, this proves to be true because a party in power has to urge to maintain that power through the practice of spying. Major political players during Ancient Rome and the French Revolution such as Julius Caesar and Maximilien Robespierre used espionage to keep themselves informed of the various plots against them, including dissent (Zurcher). As empires rose, so did the preservation of their ruling regimes, increasing the probability of rebellion against them, and giving rise to mass surveillance techniques to identify …show more content…
1984 and Spying on Democracy provide the idea of eliminating dissent through espionage or mass surveillance, and demonstrate that within political …show more content…
In Spying on Democracy, the Department of Homeland Security was created as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As a result, this gave FBI agents authorization to install surveillance devices, access private databases, and search and monitor chat rooms, bulletin boards, and websites. Because of this, New York Republican representative, Peter King, exploited public fears of terrorism and “praised surveillance cameras as a way to keep Americans safe from ‘terrorists who are constantly trying to kill us’” (Boghosian 25). By insisting that mass surveillance makes us safer, King was able to convince 96 percent of the U.S population to agree upon this claim according to the 2009 Harris Poll survey. However, many citizens did not realize that they also allowed the government to potentially conduct mass surveillance for other reasons the public may not want. This is significant because King created the idea of an Orwellian surveillance network, where the government exploited the public fear of terrorism to justify its creation of communicative devices that now allow it to monitor every citizen’s actions. If King did not propagate public opinion, citizens would feel more inclined to commit crimes as they are not being monitored, and so the government cannot maintain its power through laws that its citizens must follow. Through gaining the public’s trust, the government harnessed the ability to spy
Ms. McLean
ENG4U0-T
May 25, 2016
Knowledge Equals Power
Espionage opens a pathway for people who seek power and in general, those in power stay in power once they know what everyone is doing. According to history, this proves to be true because a party in power has to urge to maintain that power through the practice of spying. Major political players during Ancient Rome and the French Revolution such as Julius Caesar and Maximilien Robespierre used espionage to keep themselves informed of the various plots against them, including dissent (Zurcher). As empires rose, so did the preservation of their ruling regimes, increasing the probability of rebellion against them, and giving rise to mass surveillance techniques to identify …show more content…
1984 and Spying on Democracy provide the idea of eliminating dissent through espionage or mass surveillance, and demonstrate that within political …show more content…
In Spying on Democracy, the Department of Homeland Security was created as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As a result, this gave FBI agents authorization to install surveillance devices, access private databases, and search and monitor chat rooms, bulletin boards, and websites. Because of this, New York Republican representative, Peter King, exploited public fears of terrorism and “praised surveillance cameras as a way to keep Americans safe from ‘terrorists who are constantly trying to kill us’” (Boghosian 25). By insisting that mass surveillance makes us safer, King was able to convince 96 percent of the U.S population to agree upon this claim according to the 2009 Harris Poll survey. However, many citizens did not realize that they also allowed the government to potentially conduct mass surveillance for other reasons the public may not want. This is significant because King created the idea of an Orwellian surveillance network, where the government exploited the public fear of terrorism to justify its creation of communicative devices that now allow it to monitor every citizen’s actions. If King did not propagate public opinion, citizens would feel more inclined to commit crimes as they are not being monitored, and so the government cannot maintain its power through laws that its citizens must follow. Through gaining the public’s trust, the government harnessed the ability to spy