Is Total Surveillance a Good or a Bad Thing?
Libertarianism is a theory of justice. In fact, it is the only theory that can be rationally justified, and therefore the only valid one. This theory deals with the legitimate use of force in society, which can be summarized as the defense of property rights and the punishment of aggression against people and their property. Consequently, the issue of justice is the most important thing for libertarians. And that is why libertarians long to live in a society where justice reigns, where impunity is not allowed, and where every crime against property rights committed is punished. With the current technological stage of surveillance and such tools as facial recognition and artificial intelligence, this is arguably possible in many places. However, with the current statist social order, is this desirable?
Recently in New York, cameras captured the images of the murder of the CEO of the largest health insurance company in the United States, committed by a masked man. As New York is one of the most camera-monitored cities in the world, the police were able to follow the masked man’s footsteps, captured by several cameras. Finally, five days after the crime, it was possible to see his face on camera when he briefly lowered his mask to flirt with the hostel’s receptionist where he stayed. The killer, Luigi Mangione, was captured 280 miles away from the crime scene. If he had remained in New York after being identified, he would probably have been caught earlier, due to the Domain Awareness System of New York, a system that integrates the images of 18,000 cameras with the police database for real-time surveillance.
The city of São Paulo, where I live, has an even larger surveillance system, the Smart Sampa, with 25,000 cameras integrated with facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence to monitor suspicious activities and identify those wanted by the courts. Since it was implemented in July 2024, the system has allowed the capture of more than a thousand fugitives and 2,289 arrests in flagrante delicto. Though huge, the system covers only a small percentage of the city’s public space, and many crimes are committed outside the coverage area, so many criminals remain unidentified. If 100% of the city’s area was monitored by the system and everyone who entered the city was previously identified, no criminal would remain anonymous in public places. Such a scenario already exists in some places in the city.
I am a member of a sport club that has implemented a system like this, where the entire area, except for the locker rooms, is monitored by cameras. If you leave your mobile, your wallet or any object somewhere, and it
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
