Last night I finished my re-read of Vernor Vinge’s wonderful A Deepness in the Sky, and lucky dog that I am, I get to start the day with a Vernor Vinge interview. Vinge is maybe the greatest science fiction author working today, and the single writer I’ve read capable of putting libertarianism/anarchy in a context against autocracy, without beating you over the head with it or making one side look monstrous and the other like unimpeachable cherubs.
It is a little scary, isn’t it? Is this the great conspiracy against human freedom?
Before the personal computer, most people thought computers were the great enemy of freedom. When the PC came along, many people realized that millions of computers in the hands of citizens were a defence against tyranny. Now in the new millennium, we see how governments can use networks for overarching surveillance and enforcement; that is scary.
But one of the ideas I am trying to get at with “Rainbows End” is the possibility that government abuse may turn out to be irrelevant: As technology becomes more important, there governments need to provide the illusion of freedom for the millions of people who must be happy and creative in order for the economy to succeed.
Vinge makes a similar point on his conference in the Seminars About Long Term Thinking. Well worth the 90 minutes.