I feel compelled to look beyond the standard complaint that speed cameras are primarily money-making instruments rather than accident retardants. I think there is a more disturbing issue: the potential of some authoritarian eyes watching you.In the late 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham conceived of the “Panopticon,” a theoretical prison design consisting of a ring of prison cells around a single observation tower into which none of the prisoners would be able to see.
The basic notion was that the prisoners, never knowing when they were being watched, would behave well around the clock.Sony Reveals Pocket-Sized, 20MP Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 Camera with 1 Sensor. Rather than being controlled by physical force, they would be subordinated mentally, expanding the psychological partition between the guards and the prisoners.
Law enforcement cameras fall neatly into this theme, widening the civic divide between the enforcers and the enforced. While not a drastic increase in authoritarian power, these cameras are a step in the wrong direction. Paternalistic aspects of government have rarely sprouted up overnight, and this is just another incremental intrusion upon the lives of citizens.
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