The public sector and free information are essential for collective well-being

The public sector and free information are essential for collective well-being
by Bill Mitchell
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=12651

I have been in Sydney today for Day 1 of the Australian Society of Heterodox Economists’ (SHE) Conference. I always go down as a solidaristic gesture but I admit to not being fully engaged in some of the topics given there is an underlying hostility among many heterodox economist to getting the macroeconomics right before you delve into various microeconomics topics. I do not find it appealing to analysing demographic cohorts distinguished by sexuality, gender, race as if they are “independent” and can be understood without recourse to acknowledging their relationship to capital and without understanding the macroeconomic constraints that bear upon their decision-making environment. But during the day I was thinking about why societies voluntarily go along with state imposed restrictions on their freedoms which clearly entrench the disadvantage of individual members within these societies. I was thinking of this within the context of the choice nations have to exit the euro and the pressure being put on such nations to remain within the zone even though the status quo is devastating private well-being. I was also thinking about the forces that are working within the US to misrepresent the true nature of the financial crisis and allow government support for the elites who have committed gross fraud to override basic job creation support for the unemployed. I was also thinking about this in the context of the debate about the morality of WikiLeaks and the growing government attacks on that organisation.

As I am typing this, an announcement just came over the train PA system that we are going to be stuck indefinitely at Epping Station (heading north) because of a police operation in Hornsby (a bit further north) – rumoured to be a bomb scare. Hmm, later home than I wanted to be. Patience called for. Fortunately, the delay was only about 45 minutes and movement resumed and no bombs were discovered. As an aside, I was able to learn about the reasons for the delay etc by sending out a Twitter question. The normal news channels available on-line were not helpful.

Anyway, so many issues have been raised by the WikiLeaks information release. I thought about the “western outrage” about how the “free world” was scandalised by the Chinese government’s censorship of Google (and other information access that its citizens might enjoy and benefit from). Yet as soon as things turning embarrassing for the US government and all the other governments it has been dealing with – the situation changed. Suddenly, the suppression of our access to information on the Internet has become a a matter of defending our national security and this has justified blocking access to WikiLeaks servers in our so-called “free nations”.

This is just hypocrisy writ large. Censorship is never a demonstration of our freedom. It is a denial of our freedom to gain access to information that might allow us to make different decisions about what is best for us. Governments are our agents not our masters. The WikiLeaks revelations demonstrate that our governments lie and manipulate us to advance their own agendas which do not necessarily coincide with the agendas that maximise social welfare.

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perspective changes. It widens. The author makes good points.

Censorship is never a demonstration of our freedom. It is a denial of our freedom to gain access to information that might allow us to make different decisions about what is best for us. Governments are our agents not our masters. The WikiLeaks revelations demonstrate that our governments lie and manipulate us to advance their own agendas which do not necessarily coincide with the agendas that maximise social welfare.

Information is our friend. More information is better than less. We should differentiate between secrets that are vital to our security and those that are not.

In this day of DNA tests, internet banking and Facebook, how much secrecy is possible at any level, whether personal or governmental. Drink from a cup at Starbucks or a glass at an interview and you have made your DNA available to someone for the taking.

Use your laptop in an airport and before you know it that nice young man who helped you get your coat on when you got ready to board the plane has your financial data. There is no privacy and no secrecy, not for us ordinary people, not for our government.

We are just going to all have to settle down and understand that we need to behave better toward each other so that we won't have to worry quite so much when our secrets become public knowledge.