Then again, it could be argued that the need to instil fear in the masses arose precisely as they didn't have the resources to scrutinize all the people all the time. (
So they needed to make sure all the people expected to be under surveillance all the time, to keep them from doing anything undesirable (to the state, that is) while not being watched.)
IIRC the Stasi had a hard time connecting the dots (pun not intended) as the massive data sets mostly existed on file cards.
Today's problem is somewhat different: You've got loads of data, you've got the means to rapidly search and index it - but still, for some reason or the other, massive data collection doesn't appear to lead to much by way of desirable (to the populace, that is) results - actual terrorists apprehended, actual conspiracies unearthed, etc.
A cynic would assume that means the data is collected for other, more nefarious purposes. Cough.
I agree. Without moralizing on the motives, it seems like the objective of establishing an institution like the Stasi is control. If you can have that control with a velvet glove and spare the resentment so much the better.
So they needed to make sure all the people expected to be under surveillance all the time, to keep them from doing anything undesirable (to the state, that is) while not being watched.)
IIRC the Stasi had a hard time connecting the dots (pun not intended) as the massive data sets mostly existed on file cards.
Today's problem is somewhat different: You've got loads of data, you've got the means to rapidly search and index it - but still, for some reason or the other, massive data collection doesn't appear to lead to much by way of desirable (to the populace, that is) results - actual terrorists apprehended, actual conspiracies unearthed, etc.
A cynic would assume that means the data is collected for other, more nefarious purposes. Cough.