Dangerous Knowledge

One of the most dangerous things about the Internet is that common citizens are becoming too well-informed. In the past knowledge was a privilege of the rich, since all books were hand-written and hence very expensive. There were no lending libraries for common citizens. Only aristocrats could afford private teachers and a private library of hand-written books. Aristocrats opposed free public schools for centuries to prevent common people from learning too much. But when the printing press was invented, the middle class acquired access to relatively cheap sources of information (newspapers, journals and books), so knowledge began to trickle down to everybody. Only after the dangerous ideology of “socialism” spread, did the rich realize that compulsory indoctrination of the poor is necessary in well-organized state schools to protect wealth from being stolen through revolutions.

In a fair and just society common citizens would have no excuse to steal from the rich. But if wealth is ill-gotten, i.e. stolen through exploitation of common citizens, then the rich are naturally anxious to hide embarrassing information about their wealth. Even though free enterprise is a more effective way to produce wealth, those guilty aristocrats who acquired their wealth by stealing can't tolerate free and open communication. Hence the origin of censorship. Powerful lobbies organize to promote their selfish interests at the expense of unorganized common citizens, and selfish government employees become paid mercenaries fighting to protect the past and present secrets of the really big thieves among us.

I don't mean to suggest that all wealth is ill-gotten, nor do I mean that all aristocrats and government employees are dishonest. Some of the people in the heart of the beast may very well be heroes fighting against corruption. But some opportunists are dishonest and prefer monopoly to free trade, while pretending that all they want is freedom.

“Freedom of speech” is claimed to be everyone's sacred right, while in realty articulate criticism is silenced, and true opposition is violently suppressed. Public opinion is manipulated by selective reporting and even completely fake news. Common citizens are allowed and even encouraged to criticize each other, as long as they never talk about the rich and their corrupt government mercenaries. Articulate critics will be imprisoned and destroyed by accusing them of imaginary crimes such as “hate speech” or “morally corrupting the young” (like the ancient Greeks did to Socrates). Two major political parties are allowed to oppose each other, as long as both are in the pay of the rich to protect their monopoly of power.

An ancient Roman emperor expressed a timeless strategy of warfare: divide and conquer. By playing common citizens and foreign nations against each other, masses of people are easier to control and exploit. Our petty squabbles about minor issues are great entertainment for the rich. When common citizens are at each other's throats, the selfish opportunists are rolling on the floor laughing. Censorship is not an aid to education; censorship is a battle tactic. In modern warfare, the first thing a well-equipped combat unit tries to do is jam the radio frequency that enemy squads are using so they can't communicate with each other.

While we argue about petty issues, our hard-earned tax money is squandered to finance useless wars, and guess who is expected to be the boots on the ground? Instead of investing our taxes into infrastructure and quality of life, our taxes are transferred into the pockets of the arms makers. When common citizens become well-informed, they may choose to rebel or not. But if we don't rebel, then the survival and spread of large-scale economic theft and political corruption will be with our tacit consent.