The opposite of individual freedom is centralised control and surveillance. The history and etymology of the word surveillance are watch committees which sit above and monitor suspected people. Control does not always need to come from the government.  It can come under the banner of ‘surveillance capitalism’. Governments can outsource authoritarianism to private organisations and corporations. Often private enterprise is far more effective and competent at tasks than government - even if those tasks are morally questionable and dystopian.

To gain a glimpse into a surveillance future, we should ask the question ‘Has anyone been down the centralised control path before?’ The answer is yes. In recent times that includes the USSR (Soviet Russia), Communist China and Nazi Germany. One hundred years ago, Russia went through the Bolshevik revolution which led to 70 years of Soviet Communism and the genocide of millions. 75 years ago, 6 million Jews that were murdered in Nazi Germany. 50 years ago China had a Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao which killed nearly 50 million. With the West in the midst of a cultural revolution, expanding surveillance technology does not bode well for avoiding a repeat of history.  We should heed the warning of Solomon:

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Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

Proverbs 28:15

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Learning from Soviet Russia (1917-1991)

In his book 'Live Not By Lies - A Manual for the Christian Dissident' Rod Druher chronicles the struggles of Christians living under Soviet control in Russia.  He discusses how technology is an enabler of social control. During that persecution, Soviet Christianity went underground as meetings in small groups as public gatherings were forbidden. The state was supreme and any other allegiance was ruthlessly exterminated. Using communist and marxist ideology, the state implemented price and food controls at the whims of the centralised government.  The result was that areas that had previously been the world's most productive became barren wastelands.  In the early 1930's over 20 million people were starving, 5 million of whom perished. The press largely covered it up.

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Many post Soviet citizens who survived, migrated to the West.  Today, those same survivors express horror that the West is heading straight back into the type of system which they escaped. Elena Gorokhova was a teenager who grew up under Soviet rule in 1960’s Leningrad.  In her book, A Mountain of Crumbs, she describes the strange arrangement the people arrived at under their authoritarian regime. 

“The rules are simple: they lie to us, we know they're lying,  they know we know they're lying, but they keep lying to us, and we keep pretending to believe them.”

The anti-human consequences of communism is an elephant in the room. Few are willing to acknowledge this or point it out. But in God's grace, the iron curtain fell and the Soviet states dissolved.  Still, Elena’s quote is apt as today's world continues to spout lies and deception.

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Learning from Nazi Germany (1933-1945)

The 1930s Europe Exhibit at the Jerusalem Holocaust Remembrance Centre graphically shows how the marginalisation of 'groups' progresses. Before his reign of terror, Adolf Hitler published his ideology in his manifesto. Initially, minorities were required to show their papers for entry and suspected groups were restricted and demonised. Technology and authoritarianism do not have a good relationship. IBM supplied the Nazis with punch cards which Hitler used to identify, track and marginalise the Jews.  Technology enabled him to perform forced medical experiments on minority groups. Yet, Hitler could have only dreamed of having today’s surveillance technology at his fingertips.​ ​All of this occurred incrementally, because few were willing to speak out at each progressive stage.

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“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. 

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. 

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)  - German Lutheran pastor

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The etymology of the term Nazi is as a shortened version of 'National Socialists'. The 1930's feels eerily similar to today progression towards socialism.  But praise the Lord that the Nazis were not successful in taking over the world. Our world experienced a reprieve from a global dictator. But freedom should not be taken for granted which is why many Australian churches today honour the ANZACs in a special service each year.

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When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.

Proverbs 29:2

Learning from Communist China (1948-Present)

China become communist in 1948 when in the aftermath of World War II, a new marxist ideology swept the Far East.  In 1958, the Chinese Communist Party implemented its 5 year plan known as the Great Leap Forward. The goal was forced agricultural collectivisation.  The result was the starvation of 45 million people in the space of just 3 years. But large scale revolutionary plans continued.  In 1966, Mao Zedong introduced the 10 year Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which rounded up anyone who was thought to hold differing ideology and sent them to re-education camps. 2 million dissidents were murdered. 

Today, the Chinese Communist Party continues to surveil all their citizens. China spends more surveilling their own citizens than they do on their entire military expenditure.  China uses that surveillance to persecute religious minorities -Uighurs, Falun Gong and Christians. TikTok and other social media companies are under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. Even the US company Apple restricts its AirDrop function at the request of the CCP so that it can surveillance and quell protests. Any and all segments of society that hold an allegiance or sympathy to something other than the all powerful state are targeted. Those who don’t comply, disappear.  Hope and trust belongs to the state alone and dissidents are persecuted. 

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China has a well advanced social credit system.  It utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to identify those 'likely' to commit crimes and arrest them before an offence has occurred. Along with Melbourne, China had some of the most extreme COVID 'lockdowns'. Australia is not far behind and is piloting its own version of China's system called the Points Based Activity System.

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Still God builds his church in China.  Most of the churches are underground. While not acknowledged by the CCP, there are hundreds of millions of faithful Chinese Christians.  America may represent 4% of the world's population.  In real numbers there are likely more Christians in China than the USA. Persecution is not easy, but God's work continues in spite of it.

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Surveillance Comes to the West (Emerging)

In the wake of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, the USA transformed. US 'intelligence agencies' instituted mass data gathering initiatives both abroad and at home. The misnomered 'Patriot Act', enables the US government to eaves drop on potential terrorists. That sounds okay, until you realise that the government defines who is a potential 'terrorist'. 

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Intelligence without wisdom is destructive

Eckhart Tolle

As the culture of the West becomes more depraved, surveillance becomes a big problem. Now the US government is calling parents domestic terrorists for speaking out against teachers promoting transgenderism to their kids at school. Edward Snowden blew the whistle on how the US weaponised the Patriot Act to spy on its citizens. Today, Wikileaks and the Twitter files prove that is has become the land of fascism and the home of corporatism. America is on the trajectory to becoming a new surveillance state in history's long litany of beastly empires.  And it is not just the USA, but includes its allies in the 5 eyes nations of the USA, Canada, U.K., Australia and New Zealand.  

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So now, the question is, 'What are the 5 eyes surveilling?'  The answer is you and me. Future digital money will give the government complete control over our lives. The seed are there. The FBI has arrested peaceful pro-life citizens. Canada wants to euthanise minors without parental consent and has frozen protesters bank accounts. UK banks themselves are monitoring people's political views and closing their bank accounts for unapproved thinking. Like previous regimes before them, the West is not immune from developing evil policies and repeating the history of other surveillance states.