For years, whether in the musings of an academic research paper or a dystopian pop culture prediction, people have speculated that nations would adopt a digital identification system. A single national ID card that would include everything, from your birth certificate to your social insurance number to your credit score. Possession of this card would be necessary to simply exist, required for necessities like paying the rent or buying groceries. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”24″]“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” [/perfectpullquote]
Like the war on cash, proponents of this idea contend that it is important to protect you from illicit activities, make it convenient to verify your identity, and ensure the country is prepared for so-called new frontiers. In other words, it’s for your own good.
The latest group to recommend installing this model is the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA). Speaking in Toronto recently, the association’s chief executive, Neil Parmenter, urged Canada to establish a digital ID system to “unlock the full potential” of the technological revolution and all its elements – biometrics, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.
Digital Identification System
Parmenter proposed a “federated” system of digital ID that would link federal and provincial information, like social insurance and drivers’ licenses. He told the Economic Club of Canada:
“Instantly verifying who someone is using multiple digital reference points is more secure than relying on a photocopy of a drivers’ licence. Because this digital network is connected, yet decentralized, the risk of compromising the system is reduced by eliminating ‘honeypots’ of data that hackers tend to target.”
According to the CBA head, the need for digital identification “will only grow more urgent” as the banking system modernizes with open banking and adopts blockchain and AI. Open banking is increasingly becoming popular as a way for third parties to develop applications and services surrounding the needs of a financial institution, something that would require businesses and consumers to permit access to their financial data in order to receive the latest services.
Digital Societies
What does a digital society look like?
When the topic of digital societies enters into a conversation, Sweden is usually at the center of the discussion. But Sweden pales in comparison to a small Baltic state that is flying under the radar in this digital revolution: Estonia. The former Soviet satellite state began its transition to an e-superpower in the 1990s through its e-Estonia initiative, with the objectives of legitimacy, transparency, and inclusion.
Between 1997 and 2008, Estonia instituted electronic-governance (e-governance), electronic taxation (e-tax), i-voting, and blockchain technology. The government later implemented e-residency: for €100, fingerprints, and a photograph, recipients are given an identity card, a PIN code to the nation’s public systems, and a cryptographic key. If you’re not an Estonian citizen, then you can still apply for e-residency for business-related purposes. Officials say the e-Estonia program aims to boost living standards, make the state more competitive, and allow the government to operate without hassling the citizenry.
Sweden is likely the second-biggest digitally-run country in the world, where everything is maintained by some incarnation of the HAL 9000. Public transit, virtual currency, online banking, and the gradual disintegration of physical money – this is the state of Stockholm today.
China is taking it one step further: the introduction of a social credit system. Beijing’s new concept punishes unapproved behavior – pornography consumption, criticism of the state, and jaywalking – that results in restrictions on bank loans, internet access, and travel. The Chinese population have morphed into walking report cards – and it’s only getting worse.
Your Papers, Please
How do the globalists envision tomorrow? Well, to answer that question, it would be appropriate to refer to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, when O’Brien tells Winston: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” It is this intoxication of power, as Winston articulates, for which the politicians, tycoons, academics, the bureaucrats, and the rest of the anointed class, yearn. And they will try every means necessary, either through the state’s blunt instrument or through Silicon Valley’s psychological manipulation, to see their plans come to fruition.
German troops in Nazi-occupied countries would say to citizens at checkpoints or random stops: “Your papers, please.” This was life under a boot, and now the vision of the anointed contains such an existence for the common man. The blueprint of global tyranny consists of cashless societies, enforced ID cards, and monitoring devices voluntarily installed into the fabric of the home. These may seem benign upon first glance, but they become increasingly terrifying prospects because of the insidious nature of government. We have learned that the public is willing to forfeit its privacy and liberty in the name of security, or a cool innovation with a female name.
