Perhaps it is just in my country, but why is there such a lack of knowledge among the public about things such as the rapid reaction force and the World Trade Organisation etc etc? And more to the point why is there so little being done by governments and international unions to improve knowledge about things like this? This makes it extremely hard for the public to make judgements on their views of government decisions etc and even a lot of the stuff we debate here is done using less than half the facts about what we talk about. Surely it is not fair for us to make opinions on anything without knowing absolutely everything. Therefore, you’d imagine that governments would try to give the public full knowledge about a subject which is under debate in parliament so that people will understand the reasons behind the decision and would be more likely to agree. So why the lack of knowledge?
Because we are numbers and it is what we like 
I don’t think you realize the wisdom behind the words you spoke here. I know you meant something different than what I am referring to, but I will try to answer your question. I think governments don’t inform the public because the best way to control us is through leaving us dumb. Governments from thousands of years ago have long figured out that the greatest weapon and power in the world is no sword, a-bomb, or an army of billions, but INFORMATION. Informing the public of governments detailed workings is suicide in their minds, it would mean we would take them down.
But I digress back to your words, think of them not in the context of what we speak, but generalize it to all life. If you agree that there isn’t any one thing we know EVERYTHING about, cause if we did, it would lead to the knowledge of the whole universe, don’t you think that we should have a much less judgemental society? I think so. I think people need to realize your words and they will realize that there is much more to people, life, and themselves then at first judgement, or even second judgement.
What’s your take?
I agree with you with regard to whole complete understanding thing. I’ts something that I’ve come to accept, and would probably explain my ability to change my mind without wondering what people think. Many people stick by the conclusion that they’ve come to no matter what people say and it really makes things hard.
About governments keeping us dumb, it’s a practice that was done by governments in the past (and probably in the present) to keep rebelious groups from forming any sort of decent opposition to what the government was doing(eg The penal laws in Ireland) but I dont know if it is exactly what the poloticans nowadays are doing. I know you dont mean it in the same way but I’m not so sure that the whole government could be doing so much to dis-satisfy the public. Or maybe I’m just naive. Most of the public can’t face the fact that the everything cant improve at the same time ( full employment vs. control of inflation) and rather than try to teach the whole population about economics they just leave us in the dark. This is also why poloticians have to lie about what they are going to do in order to get voted into parliament. Slightly off the topic, I know, but hey, that’s polotics!
I sympathise with the issues you guys are discussing, though I have to add a few things. Government does keep stuff secret, but not all that much. It is not government’s job to “inform” the public at large–which would be a conflict of interest, like old communist state-run media–that’s the job of journalists. Now, in my experience in several countries, and from everything I’ve heard about this topic, very few people (% of total population) read serious newspapers on a daily basis. There’s reams of material on the WTO or whatever you want available on the internet, in books, public domain government documents and records. Maybe not everything, but alot more than what people generally know… and you can’t blame government for keeping it from us. People in the government are mostly bureaucrats trying to secure their own jobs, get promotions, etc. They are not all getting together trying to “control” us. Our own laziness and apathy do that job rather well.
Most people think that foreign policy and trade agreements are abstractions that have little to do with the lives they lead, with the things that are important to them. And then, many of these issues are so complicated that it would take a considerable amount of time, effort, and prior education to come to meaningful–not knee-jerk–opinions about them. To understand the WTO, you need a considerable grasp of history, economics, financial institutions, international law, etc. Most of the anti-globalization people do not have any such thing (I suspect this is a pre-requisite), and when you hear interviews, they are unable to articulate their opposition except as slogans or cliches. I think the big protests movements nowadays are not opposition to a particular thing or things, but opposition to the new complexity of the world. They are mad not because it’s bad, but because they don’t understand it. Confusion and uncertainty create anxiety, and that anxiety gets channelled into all kinds things–fundamentalism, political ideology, racism, etc.
That was a broad brush, to be sure. Yes, I know there are lucid commentators who criticize globalization… Chomsky, etc. I’m talking of the average protestor-on-the-street.
Blauboad stated:
How do you know if it is being kept a secret? What exactly is ‘not all that much’ to you?
Blauboad stated:
That depends on your interpretation.
Blauboad stated:
Really, well why don’t you elucidate on that knowledge. Give me some facts, I’m assuming that you are not one of the ones who don’t read newspapers on a daily basis. So you must be very informed, so tell me…for example, the %of total population that do read newspapers
Blauboad stated:
I’m not sure I understand here, you are saying that there is information out there in newspapers, internet, books, PUBLICH DOMAIN GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS…BUT the government is keeping it from us? Well if they are keeping it from us than how come we have it? Furthermore, no one is claiming that everything is in records or books, etc - no one is BLAMING the government, just stating a fact - governments do not give us all their information on their proceedings, etc.
Blauboad stated:
I suggest you speak for yourself on laziness and apathy, for I don’t think it fair of you to generalize that on everyone. Moreover, you say that the government isn’t out to control us but is in it to secure each persons job and promotions. Doesn’t one do that by controlling the circumstances around them? Don’t you find it a tad bit funny that we supposedly live in a democratic country but the ones who enforce and make law (judges) are brought in undemocratically? Atleast this is true for Canada and the US.
Blauboad stated:
??? Again with your generalizations, man, I haven’t heard anyone who believes that foreign policy and trade agreements are abstractions that have little to do with the lives they lead, I don’t know who you are talking to, but your majority is not the same as my majority. Yes issues can be complex in their interconnection within the rest of society, but all things can be easily broken down into values that are not only explainable to the average person but even made coherent. I ain’t no brainer, and I have never had a problem understanding any political theory, policy, or agreement. Lastly, whether a person will have a knee-jerk reaction to something has nothing to do with whether the government should or shouldn’t tell us about their proceedings. There are some very good reasons not to tell the public things for their own safety, which isn’t something I ever went against, I simply said that the government kept us uninformed in order to keep us under control which you still have yet to convince me otherwise, you have yet to give me a rational reason to even begin thinking otherwise.
Blauboad stated:
If you mean World Trade Organization by WTO, then I completely disagree with your statement. Anyone can understand what the organization is, how it is run, what they do, and why they do it as long as someone explains it to them or they are provided with the means of finding it themselves (ie. books, internet, etc).
What’s your take?