The profits of religion

What Hacker News says

1. eternalbanJan 2023
   > "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." -- Eric Schmidt

   "History"

   "An early instance of this argument was referenced by Henry James in his 1888 novel, The Reverberator:

   If these people had done bad things they ought to be ashamed of themselves and he couldn’t pity them, and if they hadn’t done them there was no need of making such a rumpus about other people knowing.

   "Upton Sinclair also referenced a similar argument in his book The Profits of Religion, published in 1917 :

   Not merely was my own mail opened, but the mail of all my relatives and friends — people residing in places as far apart as California and Florida. I recall the bland smile of a government official to whom I complained about this matter: "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear." My answer was that a study of many labor cases had taught me the methods of the agent provocateur. He is quite willing to take real evidence if he can find it; but if not, he has familiarized himself with the affairs of his victim, and can make evidence which will be convincing when exploited by the yellow press.

   "The motto

   `If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear'

   has been used in defense of the closed-circuit television program practiced in the United Kingdom."

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide_argument

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schmidt

   https://foucault.info/documents/foucault.disciplineAndPunish...

   "This enclosed, segmented space, observed at every point, in which the individuals are inserted in a fixed place, in which the slightest movements are supervised, in which all events are recorded, in which an uninterrupted work of writing links the centre and periphery, in which power is exercised without division, according to a continuous hierarchical figure, in which each individual is constantly located, examined and distributed among the living beings, the sick and the dead — all this constitutes a compact model of the disciplinary mechanism."

   https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/0244he8B2BeMYIAYRB8LNH5-...

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2. godelskiNov 2016
   I think that is the key difference. People feel like these are only minor infractions and that those that have the data will only go after the "real" bad guys. Not realizing that there is a thin line being tread in that argument. Especially since historically we've seen movie studios able to get the data to send cease and desist letters. I also don't think people realize how easy it is to sift through that data.

   Also I find it interesting that argument holds so much ground since it has been the catch phrase of tyrannical governments for a hundred years. In Sinclair's "The Profits of Religion: An Essay in Economic Interpretation" and from the mouth of Goebbels. Usually people try to distance themselves as far as possible from the NAZIs.

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