it relates through intellectual property and what I am saying is that privacy does not have a one size fits all solution. Some choices are hard-wired and in some ways that will never go away while human beings exist unless you selectively breed it out of them
the joke about internet porn was in relation to a TV ad that is repeated frequently played bevause it catches our attention, I don't really go for internet porn, it doesn't interest me. but it was about how americans are attracted to it and probably many people as it relates to biology as in reproduction and seems to be something hard wired in humans, with social coverings and differing norms and is related to privacy. it is rediculous but there.
The french for example don't want anyone to know what they earn or pay in taxes on their real estate that information they consider private, in america real estate taxes are public information. the french dont mind showing off something that the publically prudish americans swear they have no interest in but are actually facinated by in private (hence the joke about internet porn) such as their breasts on public beaches, just like brazil or italians. (depends on what you look like in the buff for some?)
But in China what you read may not be private. the differences I have seen in China have more to do with gender preferencial treatment than what we would even consider giving up as private (our thoughts freedom of expression etc) People do not chat on the bus or the train in China, because they are afraid of their government. That is fear of their private thoughts being known - illustion of transparency, but for them its real ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusion_of_transparency
biologically privacy is shown even among animals, by its very nature humans need some forms of privacy. Since it costs a human mother a certain amount of calories to concieve, bear and raise children, she will want to do that in a private, controlled, SAFE, environment - this means controllling who has access to her, her family and any and all information about them
Why? Because she wants the protection afforded by the many levels of privacy, physical, ecomomic, social, informational etc what ever other kinds, because they related to safety and security. Privacy is a individual and group response to biological needs for safety and security even in communial cultures. The desire for an increase in privacy generally rises with the level of an increase in woman's education which is linked to increases in the stabiltiy of nations. there are also social norms related to physical privacy, just travel to India and you'll see someone washing their private parts in public, china and you can not walk down the street with out your body space being invaded - these are social norms.
as far as China - he who has the key to resources has wealth. Think about B 2 B supply chains and intellectual property is again a form of wealth in the information age. traditional economics holds that (resources) its like diamonds and gold and timber and potato(e thx mr bush)s and pork bellies. But as our world grows flatter and ecomomic competion increases globally knowing information to turn it into things like instant *buy*sell* investments is a form of wealth. Of these forms information about people, our private information which we now consider an opt in privilege for others to have may become more like an opt out privilege to pay others to obtain so we aren't bugged etc. we want to make choices as you said, and that includes about our private information. just like walled villas of the rich and wanna be rich.
Think about Matrix as Neo walks through ads. He never had privacy - that is not going to happen because he will be able to afford to turn it off - he kept it on so he would not appear so wealthy in public which would tend to draw attention to him
think about the issues of choice modeling, a - b testing, cognitive biases,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases and all the biases in choices, the user is king, the more you know about your user the more power you have over them. All that Use case senario user testing marketing profiling stuff is about getting people the user to do what you want them to, in the guise of serving them at some level. user testing is about knowing what is in someone's mind, making tacit information into data/info/knowled/wisdom/=money.
Long term its been about class struggles but in contrast what do inventors and academics care about - not money but what their peers think - it's controllable. why work on designing new aids drugs if you know 3rd world folks will die anyway cause they can't afford the medicinal drugs regardless of emergency agreements?
private information is a form of wealth to seek sales or other goals. privacy issues will not go away even in the far flung future, because there will be differences in personal needs, different laws, coping strategies, biologically driven needs etc
as for a mothers strategy of complete transparency complete openness - it would fail because of the reason stated before - people do want to lean in at the table and learn some juicy gossip, the less spiritually and morally mature want to hate and hurt anyone they percieve as being a HAVE, talent money love what ever.
The children's naked bodies were examined by the police because the neighbours accused the mother of torchering them because the neighbours were just plain jealous of that artistic way of life, openness, joie d vive, etc this society is not ready for glasnost/transparency/openness as long as competition exists we will all search for something to cover whatever we percieve as our nakidness this side of Eden.
Outside the Gates of Eden - by Christopher Wilkinson
"There are no truths outside the gates of Eden. There none inside either. Truths tend to be defined. The domain of no definition is bliss. Bliss is orgasmic reality without center or boundary. On the outside of the gates, this is well conceived as the structure of a mandala. There are male and female aspects. The chip is material, and like the male principle, represents the structure of the mandala. The software -- particularly the OS, is basically female, and represents the intuitive power of consciousness -- the thing that gives it life.
...
Humanity is at constant war, whether it be war for good or war for conquest, or just to prove who is better or worse. The trials that determine who is right and who is wrong are only functional where the binary reality structure has been imposed on experiential truth -- at the level of total intermesh between OS and hardware -- life and earth -- yab and yum -- at this level all binaries are conventionalities at best. ..Information regarding the endlessness and painful condition of Samsara would tend to be depressing, as there is no real hope for consummate orgasmic awareness to override the dualistic binaries that dwell outside the gates of Eden."
Read:The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman The World Is Flat?: A Critical Analysis of New York Times Bestseller by Thomas Friedman by Ronald Aronica and Mtetwa Ramdoo Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas Friedman Making Globalization Work by Joseph E. Stiglitz
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