China’s academics tackle the ‘Big Brother’ state — Gordon Watts

I don't have a big problem with this, which may surprise some since I self-identify as a libertarian of the left. How can this be consistent with personal freedom?

The reason I don't have a big problem with it is three-fold. First, new technology will be used. End of discussion. The second reason is related to this. China is up-front about it and the West is not. There is virtually "total information awareness" in the West in the newly emerging surveillance state owing to the proliferation of technology.

This means that Chinese people know what they face, and many Westerners do not realize the level of scrutiny to which they are exposed. We know this from leaks.

When one knows the extent of a problem the problem can be addressed. When one doesn't and those responsible are hidden behind a wall of secrecy there is little that can be done specifically.

I am also aware that there are vast cultural differences among peoples and the Western presumption of a single "human nature" that accords with Western views is philosophically untenable. As a result, peoples that have a long history of social living rather than a short history of a frontier society that no longer exists are likely to have different worldviews, different ways of organizing experience, and different value systems.

A chief objective of left libertarians is to resolve paradoxes arise from the trifecta of liberty, equality, and solidarity in society. Liberty cannot entail license, for example. Where and how to draw the lines based on criteria is a chief issue in political theory and practice.

The third factor is scale. Societies are now so large as to be difficult to manage but some governance is required to prevent anarchy in the sense of chaos. This is now a primary challenge as some countries populations exceed hundreds of millions. 

Why is this particularly important. Because the priorities of government are security, welfare and general well-being in that order. Maintaining security in a large-scale society is a huge challenge in itself and it is complicated by the the need for liberty and privacy. This involves difficult political choices by leaders that know they will be held to account for lapses in security.

So instead of getting all idealistic, a sense of proportion must be established in order to address emerging challenges in contemporary complex adaptive social systems. People should look to their own locale, region, and nation, as well as take the newly emerging global society into account rather than obsess over what others are doing and choices they are making.

This is difficult for Americans owing to American exceptionalism, one aspect of which is the assumption that the whole world should either emulate America or be forced to do so, which is, of course, illiberal in the extreme when violence is involved. At the same time, Americans in general cannot agree on what "American" actually means. 

Instead, let's look at social, political and economic issues systematically. This requires achieving harmony, which the Chinese culture values most highly.

Asia Times
China’s academics tackle the ‘Big Brother’ state

Gordon Watts