Why Civil Liberties are Important : comments.
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(no subject)
And they've already lived through a compulsory ID card scheme (World War 2 until 1952). So I would say that they have more first-hand experience with such a thing operating in the UK than we do.
I would note that we did not become a fascist totalitarian society then.
The most hassle I ever had was working for private companies while a student - at one factory especially there were lousy working conditions, snotty management etc. The only sign of Government hassle was that we actually *did* get breaks (only barely the legal minimum).
I must confess that I always saw Big Government as an ally against Big Business - they can force companies to not discriminate against women, black people, students, anyone they don't like etc.
(no subject)
Hmmm... Well, you should read George Orwell's Letters to America (I don't know where you'd read them, unless in the 4-volume complete collected shorter works, though). Or Nineteen Eighty-Four. We didn't become a fascist totalitarian society. But WWII ended, and so - eventually - did the compulsory ID card. The proposal now is not to institute a temporary ID card for the duration of the war (and read Quentin Crisp on how the police used the ID card then to make trouble for deviants) but to institute a permanent and compulsory ID card.
I must confess that I always saw Big Government as an ally against Big Business - they can force companies to not discriminate against women, black people, students, anyone they don't like etc.
Yes, they can. But at present it's still perfectly legal for an employer to discriminate against me, for example - to sack me on the grounds of my sexual orientation. And yes, the government can be a useful ally against big business. It can also - and frequently is - be the most useful ally of big business.
(no subject)
The answer being a case brought by somebody who felt that the police were unfairly demanding ID papers. They won, the card was dropped.
I also don't think that comparing war and peace time in this context is helpful.