Tag Archives: Democracy

“A horse was in sole occupation of a meadow. A stag having come and done much damage to the pasture, the horse, wishing to avenge himself on the stag, asked a man whether he could help him to punish the … Continue reading →

Posted on February 12, 2017 by lawrence serewicz | Comments Off on An ancient fable to explain the 2016 election

Snowden, Manning and Tsarnaev: is the only difference a pressure cooker? (Part 2)

Posted on March 2, 2014 by lawrence serewicz

(This is the second part of an essay, the first part, published earlier can be found here.) If liberalism cannot satisfy the disgruntled individual, what will? Manning, Snowden and Tsarnaev attack on America has revealed liberalism’s limits in the social … Continue reading →

Posted in censorship, education, Government | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The problem of surveillance in a democratic society

Posted on September 29, 2013 by lawrence serewicz

  What has been a constant theme through the debate is that there is a technological solution (encryption) to what is perceived as a technological problem (surveillance). The problem, at its source, is not technological it is political. Why we … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, transparency | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why encryption threatens democracy

Posted on September 18, 2013 by lawrence serewicz

The basic encryption is like a lock for the front door. It will stop the burglar, which is its main purpose. Super encryption is only needed to stop an advanced burglar not the government. When people talk about advanced encryption … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What is the university in an age of social media?

Posted on February 12, 2013 by lawrence serewicz

Clay Shirky has posted an intriguing article on the future of the university in the social media age.  He argues that social-media technology, in particular the MP3 and technology to enable sharing, which has changed the music industry, is changing … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, scholarship, statesmanship | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Open data creates inefficient government and why this is good

Posted on August 20, 2012 by lawrence serewicz

The promise that open data will improve government efficiency is misplaced.  Every administration claims it will make government effective and efficient.  We had Clinton’s Reinventing Government and Bush’s reforms after 11 September.  Neither has delivered as it promised. In large … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, local government, open data, public sector, transparency | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Open data creates inefficient government and why this is good

What happens when we can longer find the moral arguments to defend democracy?

Posted on May 12, 2012 by lawrence serewicz

The following was developed in response to an exchange I had with Paul Bernal on his excellent blog about the UK government’s proposed surveillance powers.  In the discussion in previous class on the issue, a student from the former soviet … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Government, scholarship, statesmanship | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What happens when we can longer find the moral arguments to defend democracy?