In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance

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Recommended: Surveillance and privacy

Part I:

James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:

i. If is ever morally permissible for the State to secure information about past events, then it is morally permissible for it to do so through the use of surveillance devices.

ii. It is morally permissible for the State to secure information about...

... middle of paper ...

...d to the rights-based and consequentialist views could only help his argument be more whole or better-rounded.

Part IV:

Overall, I do agree with Taylor. Initially, I did not want to agree with or praise the idea of Big Brother. The idea of constant surveillance had me worried, but any worries I had, he had already thought of and thoroughly explained how privacy would be covered throughout different scenarios. Clearly, his logic is infallible, valid and all major concerns have been covered and accounted for within his article.

Works Cited

"Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 07 June 2010. .

Taylor, James Stacey. "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance." Public Affairs Quarterly July 2005: 227-246.

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