In case you missed them – Highlights fall 2020
Life after Privacy Reclaiming Democracy in a Surveillance Society
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Firmin DeBrabander
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UK publication September 2020 US publication September 2020 229 x 152 x 10mm (HxWxD) 0.280kg 180 pages 9781108811910 Paperback £19.99 / $24.95
Privacy is gravely endangered in the digital age, and we, the digital citizens, are its principal threat, willingly surrendering it to avail ourselves of new technology, and granting the government and corporations immense power over us. In this highly original work, Firmin DeBrabander begins with this premise and asks how we can ensure and protect our freedom in the absence of privacy. Can— and should—we rally anew to support this institution? Is privacy so important to political liberty after all? DeBrabander makes the case that privacy is a poor foundation for democracy, that it is a relatively new value that has been rarely enjoyed throughout history—but constantly persecuted—and politically and philosophically suspect. The vitality of the public realm, he argues, is far more significant to the health of our democracy, but is equally endangered—and often overlooked—in the digital age.
Firmin DeBrabander is Professor of Philosophy, Maryland Institute College of Art. He has written commentary pieces for a number of national publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, the Atlantic, LA Times, Salon, Aeon, Chicago Tribune, and The New Republic. Professor DeBrabander is the author of Do Guns Make us Free? (2015), a philosophical and political critique of the guns rights movement.
Praise
At a glance • Provides an interdisciplinary analysis, drawing upon academic fields including philosophy, politics, media studies, law, and history • Examines the peculiarities of online behavior and explains how our interaction with digital media facilitates the surrender of privacy • Questions both the historical and philosophical identity of privacy
‘... Life After Privacy: Reclaiming Democracy in a Surveillance Society is an eloquent, compelling call for us to rethink our commitment to privacy by understanding its history and uses...An indispensable book for our times that does what great political philosophy needs to do - make us question what we mean by our most basic concepts.’ William Egginton, author of The Splintering of the American Mind ‘In 2020, more so than in 1984, the Big Brother is watching you. But does this really matter? – asks Firmin DeBrabander’s pungent new book. Ranging from intellectual history to contemporary economics, from Big Data to Big Politics, from confession to contestation, Life After Privacy argues that we should finally begin caring for the public realm, rather than obsessing about intrusions into the private domain, which is something of a political fiction. If there is a work with the potential to reframe the very terms of the current debate on privacy, it is the one you are now holding in your hands!’ Michael Marder, author of Political Categories ‘This book makes accessible a counter-intuitive (perhaps even seeminglycontrarian) argument about privacy that deserves a hearing. Not all readers will agree with DeBrabander’s conclusion that privacy is pretty much dead. But this is a view murmured often enough in Silicon Valley to warrant serious attention. DeBrabander understands our skepticisms but skillfully argues that we are inexorably drawn to this conclusion nonetheless. Those who care deeply about privacy, as well as those who look forward to the transparent society, will learn much from this book’s subtle arguments. And remember: the best philosophy books are the ones that strike you as implausible by their title but leave you convinced after you’ve read them.’ Colin Koopman, author of How We Became Our Data
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