Comments on: So what’s new?

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:55:28 +0000

I think the problem here is that Brown generally defines liberty as “the freedom to shop”, rather than a more general freedom from state interference or intrusion. As long as we accept the security checks at the entrance to the mall (and at all points on the journey) our brand choice is unimpaired. Hence liberty trumps equality over say, choosing a school, or health treatment; a transaction unencumbered by the security blanket that surrounds everything. Meanwhile we can find equality in the state of permanent suspicion in which we each are held.

By: Chris Rimmer

Chris Rimmer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:01:24 +0000

Nice article. I have to say I am still struggling to understand the current obsession with terrorism. Is it purely down to 9/11? When the IRA were planting bombs or the Luftwaffe flattening our major cities we gritted our teeth and carried on our lives, determined not to be swayed. Now it seems that a handful of suicidal nutcases have persuaded us to throw away hard-fought freedoms in the search for security. As Bruce Schneier says the point of terrorism is to terrorize. If we refuse to be terrorized then that makes the job of the terrorist much harder.