In the 19th Century Lord Acton said that the most important responsibility of government was to protect the liberties of citizens.  Fast forward to the early 21st Century and a committee of EU ministers published a joint letter in the International Herald Tribune which stated that government’s prime task was to protect the “safety of citizens”.  Think about it.  To adequately keep citizens safe the government has to restrict our liberties, spy on us and rout out those who intend us harm.

In time of war it seems reasonable to concur with the EU  committee, but only as  long as a state of emergency exists, and with strict sunset clauses. Epicurus, I believe, would have pointed out that liberty comes with risks, but that those risks are worth putting up with because our liberties are priceless.  At the moment, under the banner of protecting us, governments and giant corporations are invading our privacy, ferreting away our secrets, and studying our most private likes and dislikes. We will pay a high price for the rule of the control freaks, “protecting” us.