flâneur

The Transparent Society

wired.com · 3,787 words · saved by 1 readers

THE CAMERAS ARE coming. They're getting smaller and nothing will stop them. The only question is: who watches whom? This is a tale of two cities. Cities of the near future, say, 20 years from now. Barring something unforeseen, you are apt to live in one of these two places. Your only choice may be which. At first sight, this pair of near-future municipalities look pretty much alike. Both contain dazzling technological marvels, especially in the realm of electronic media. Both suffer familiar urban quandaries of frustration and decay. If some progress is being made at solving human problems, it is happening gradually. Perhaps some kids seem better educated. The air may be marginally cleaner. People still worry about overpopulation, the environment, and the next international crisis. None of these features is of interest to us right now, for we have noticed something about both 21st-century cities that *is *radically different. A trait that marks them distinctly apart from any metropolis

Save this story Save this story The cameras are coming. They're getting smaller and nothing will stop them. The only question is: who watches whom? This is a tale of two cities. Cities of the near future, say, 20 years from now. Barring something unforeseen, you are apt to live in one of these two places. Your only choice may be which . At first sight, this pair of near-future municipalities look pretty much alike. Both contain dazzling technological marvels, especially in the realm of electronic media. Both suffer familiar urban quandaries of frustration and decay. If some progress is being m

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