>I think the peace of mind that you and everyone you'll ever know will never get disappeared into someone's rape dungeon doesn't seem so bad. Or that you can go into business and actually win because you're doing it better, because your competitors aren't in bed with government, corruptly and systematically destroying the possibility of competition.
A society in which law enforcement will be perfect (from a technical perspective) is not the same as a society in which the law is perfect.
Nor is a police having "100% capability of catching thieves, etc" the same as a police catching "100% of thieves".
The police could have all the tools on their disposal to catch anyone, but the political leaders of the police, and those influencing policy, law and enforcement, will still be the same higher-ups with self interests.
And of course any bevelonce in the use of such powers is just a regime change away from being lost -- not to mention that such powers would make it more tempting for the elite get dictatorial powers, and more difficult for the people to get rid of them.
Among other things, to quote Anatole France: "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread".
Without much turbulent political history to draw upon (compared to a place like Germany or Italy) Americans are quite naive on such matters, especially white ones (even though McCarthyism, or J.E Hoover, or Nixon are there as examples, along with many others, like the recent SWATization of police forces, ridiculous 3-strikes laws etc). Black Americans on the other hand, of who people between 60 - 80 still lived in legal segregation, and who still get show for "walking while black" among tons of similar injustices, know better.
Too true. 100% enforcement of the law is only as good or as bad as the law itself.
I am absolutely not trying to espouse 100% given the current state of law / government in most countries, where the expression of the few, the powerful, expression which is contrary to the interest of the many, and quite frankly, contrary to the law as most people know it (e.g. current blatant human rights violations in America), somehow is always permitted by law and any counter-measures are preemptively disabled.
In other words, any government susceptible to corruption plus 100% law enforcement is a dead end.
A society in which law enforcement will be perfect (from a technical perspective) is not the same as a society in which the law is perfect.
Nor is a police having "100% capability of catching thieves, etc" the same as a police catching "100% of thieves".
The police could have all the tools on their disposal to catch anyone, but the political leaders of the police, and those influencing policy, law and enforcement, will still be the same higher-ups with self interests.
And of course any bevelonce in the use of such powers is just a regime change away from being lost -- not to mention that such powers would make it more tempting for the elite get dictatorial powers, and more difficult for the people to get rid of them.
Among other things, to quote Anatole France: "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread".
Without much turbulent political history to draw upon (compared to a place like Germany or Italy) Americans are quite naive on such matters, especially white ones (even though McCarthyism, or J.E Hoover, or Nixon are there as examples, along with many others, like the recent SWATization of police forces, ridiculous 3-strikes laws etc). Black Americans on the other hand, of who people between 60 - 80 still lived in legal segregation, and who still get show for "walking while black" among tons of similar injustices, know better.