Cambridge Business Association
The Hidden History of Big Brother in America
Book

The Hidden History of Big Brother in America

How the Death of Privacy and the Rise of Surveillance Threaten Us and Our Democracy

Thom Hartmann
Berrett-Koehler, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Technology companies enable a new kind of surveillance state, argues progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann in this brief, disturbing book. Hartmann shows how today’s web giants evoke the Big Brother that author George Orwell foretold in 1984. Corporations such as Google and Facebook don’t need the heavy-handed tactics of past surveillance states. They offer free services, help themselves to details about all facets of your life, and sell that data to marketers, law enforcement, politicians, and intelligence agencies. Hartmann outlines the dangers of surveillance capitalism and describes efforts to keep big tech in check. He warns that whoever has access to this much data can control people’s behavior on a large scale. 

Summary

A new type of surveillance state is spreading throughout the world.

The fictional dystopia of George Orwell’s 1984 is becoming a reality. The novel’s repressive Big Brother government surveilled and aimed to control its citizens’ activities, speech, and thoughts. 

Today’s version of Big Brother takes the form of surveillance capitalism, as giant technology companies collect vast troves of data on their customers’ behaviors. Then, they sell the information they glean from that data to marketers, political campaigns, and government agencies. 

Today’s technology offers an array of data-gathering tools.

Facebook has spent years amassing vast databases of its users’ personal information. Even people without Facebook accounts can’t escape scrutiny – affiliated websites report those who browse their domains to Facebook. Google’s search engine maintains a virtual dossier on your interests and activities by analyzing your search history.

Another major avenue of data mining is the Internet of Things (IoT). Increasing numbers of “smart” consumer products connect to the...

About the Author

Thom Hartmann is the host of The Thom Hartmann Program, an internationally syndicated talk show. He is also the author of Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-being and ADHD Secrets of Success: Coaching Yourself to Fulfillment in the Business World. He has also written a series of other Hidden History books, including histories of neoliberalism, the Supreme Court, monopolies, American health care, American oligarchies, and guns and the Second Amendment.  

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