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"If you have control of the servers belonging to Visa or MasterCard, you have control of Sweden," Engström says.
It is hard to argue that you cannot trust the government when the government isn't really all that bad. This is the problem facing the small but growing number of Swedes anxious about their country's rush to embrace a cash-free society.
Most consumers already say they manage without cash altogether, while shops and cafes increasingly refuse to accept notes and coins because of the costs and risk involved. Until recently, however, it has been hard for critics to find a hearing.
"The Swedish government is a rather nice one, we have been lucky enough to have mostly nice ones for the past 100 years," says Christian Engström, a former MEP for the Pirate Party and an early opponent of the cashless economy.
"In other countries there is much more awareness that you cannot trust the government all the time. In Sweden it is hard to get people mobilised."
There are signs this might be changing. In February, the head of Sweden's central bank warned that Sweden could soon face a situation where all payments were controlled by private sector banks.
The Riksbank governor, Stefan Ingves, called for new legislation to secure public control over the payments system, arguing that being able to make and receive payments is a "collective good" like defence, the courts, or public statistics.
[...] "Most citizens would feel uncomfortable to surrender these social functions to private companies," he said.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 08 2018, @05:41AM (4 children)
You've apparently missed the point. In Sweden they don't bother with anything so petty as your hoppy-hop card. Everything - EVERYTHING - is tied to one account. They would have to roll things backward a good deal, before they considered hopping around like you do. How far away from home can you go with a hop? Can it take you to the nation's capital? Will it get you to LA? Orlando? That hoppy card is so minor, it doesn't even create any noise on the radar.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday April 08 2018, @07:06AM (3 children)
Just thinking about being tracked makes me psychotic. The only way I could stay sane was simply to accept that I'm being tracked. I do my very very best never to notice security camera. I'd go out of my tree in England or in Sweden.
There are different causes to paranoia - schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, drug abuse and so on.
But most of those who experience paranoia don't need to be hospitalized all the time. To the extent I avoid looking at security cameras I can stay out of the funny farm.
A friend from high school is a psychiatrist. I'm going to ask him about incidences of hospitalization for paranoia in countries that either have or don't have pervasive surveillance.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 08 2018, @08:00AM (2 children)
Dude - you don't have to be crazy to be paranoid. Sometimes, the bastards are really out to get you. In light of the various and sundry headlines on our pages in recent days, you have to be crazy to NOT be paranoid! There are a myriad of predators out there. It's a jungle full of predators. For the most part, people rely on that herd thing - there is so much food available, that the predators can't take it all. Everyone hopes that he's not today's prey. They pretend that it can't happen to them. But, the predators are real, and if you happen to be noticed, then you are dinner.
Stay paranoid, and don't believe for one minute that you are crazy because you are paranoid.
That doesn't preclude the possibility that you are afraid of the wrong things. Nor does it preclude the likelihood that you really are fucking bonkers.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday April 08 2018, @08:10AM (1 child)
Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're not really out to get you [warplife.com].
I wrote that in 2003.
Consider soldiers who never lose their cool despite fighting in wars for many years.
You're right, in today's world many people have good reason to fear for their lives, but not all of them will experience paranoia. Some simply accept their lot, as do those soldiers who don't lose their cools.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 08 2018, @09:55AM
That is a very rare creature, indeed. Everyone is afraid of something. If that something sneaks up on you unexpectedly, most likely you'll lose your cool. The biggest badass you ever met can be broken down, sometimes by something minor. Maybe he's afraid of rats, or wasps, or maybe he's superstitious. A black cat, or a voodoo witch destroys him.
OK, leave all of that stuff aside. Let us only consider a fighting man, who has faced combat many times. From my own experience, you might be fearless today, and tomorrow, you'll be scared shitless. It all depends on whether you can overcome that fear, whether you are also brave. Note that "brave" and "fearless" are entirely different things.
Anyway, those soldiers who are never visibly shaken often have their own psych problems. Audi Murphy was the most decorated US soldier in WW2. You should read his biography. He was pretty screwed up. We might suspect that being fucked up is what enabled him to perform his heroic feats - normal people can't do the stuff he did.