Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET) [LWN.net]

Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)

Posted Jul 25, 2013 2:59 UTC (Thu) by wahern (subscriber, #37304)
In reply to: Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET) by fest3er
Parent article: Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)

I _wish_ we elected communists or anarchists in the United States. Because of 120+ years of brutal repression here, those are the only two groups that would unfailingly oppose the police state.

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Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)

Posted Jul 25, 2013 13:07 UTC (Thu) by mpr22 (subscriber, #60784) [Link] (1 responses)

Anarchists, yes, since the creation of a police state is the establishment of a formal hierarchical power structure and thus directly contrary to anarchism.

Communists, maybe not. Socialist and communist political groups were quite vigorously repressed by Imperial Russia after the assassination of Alexander II, yet the RSFSR and the USSR were police states.

Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)

Posted Jul 26, 2013 5:16 UTC (Fri) by wahern (subscriber, #37304) [Link]

Fair enough. I wouldn't trust communists if they had any substantial power. I just think that if there were a minority of communists in an American legislature they'd be easy anti-police state votes. And I don't think you could say that about every potential minority party, especially comprised of conservative groups (e.g. fascists), where strong preferences for "law & order" tend to lead to aggressive policing and a proliferation of criminal laws.