WikiLeaks and a fragile community – David Brooks NYT Opinion
Consider the effect computers have had on the insurance industry, and consequentially, on all of the risks (health, life, fire, accident, loss) funded by the insurance industry. Prior to computers, the historical price for an insurance provider to cover a beneficiary was the product of static market conditions. Insurance is a financial service product based on knowledge of risk, and the knowledge of various risks to beneficiaries had been stable for many years. With the advent of computerization, beneficiaries and risk could be correlated in the machine so that insurers could now choose which beneficiaries were least likely to cost them benefits. Computer correlation of beneficiary data fundamentally shifted the bargaining power between insurers and beneficiaries, and as we can see with health insurance, the consequences to this radical shift are still playing out in a myriad of market and government reactions.
A WikiLeaks data dump was not possible in pre-computerized diplomacy. Arguably, any system will eventually break in some unforeseen manner. That’s the nature of all human systems. But that’s really beside the point. The WikiLeaks breach of security of diplomatic correspondence is a window into the formerly secure instantaneous worldwide communications forum used by diplomats to influence governmental, military, civilian and commercial operations throughout the world.
This forum enabled by modern technology did not exist when the Founders built our constitutional republic–when they conceived that a free press coupled with a vigilant citizenry would be our primary safety net to protect our free society. WikiLeaks shows us a subculture of rulers who exist, discuss, and make decisions outside of our constitutional framework, beyond the bounds of our free press, invisible to American citizens. If these cables were supposed to have been filtered and presented though the American press to Americans, the American press has been negligent in the extreme.
WikiLeaks will not change the ruling culture that operates our executive diplomatic agencies, our police, military or intelligence agencies. All of these organizations will react within their organizational constructs to close the leaks, circle the wagons, shut down access, and generally refuse to even acknowledge the existence of anything that has been exposed. This is the external face they have always shown to the public, and nothing in this episode will make them change those organizational cultures.
The difference is that citizens now have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that shows how much of the public relations work product that our diplomatic and security organizations produce is sanitized propaganda. That’s not to say there aren’t a million reasons for disinforming the public about their various activities. Some of those reasons may be good, some may be systemic over-reactions, some may be political, some may be personal, some may be clearly erroneous.
In researching the classification system of American secrets it’s apparent that active participation in this system involves consensually forfeiting many free speech rights of American citizenship. Now, people all over the world are exposed to a great deal of previously secure content, and they are not bound by a promise of confidentiality to a sovereign. They are not bound by a chain of command. They are in fact free speakers who can discuss, evaluate, analyze, judge, compare and do all the things that free citizens do. Ironically, free citizens can now use their liberty to analyze these subjects in ways that the progenitors of the information cannot.
Progressives, who typically use whatever subject matter they get their hands on to further their progressive agenda, will probably use this data as they typically do. Others will take this world education and use it to make better assessments and decisions in their own lives, businesses and country.
If you believe that our free society is a successful model that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, then you have to also expect that further empowering our free society with more real information and data will lead, in perhaps unforeseen ways, to a more robust and successful free society. This is the camp I’m in. I strongly disagree with all those who characterize WikiLeaks content as merely taboo. We already had too many witchdoctors running around before Assange stirred the pot.
