Notes &
How could anyone be against transparency? Its virtues and its utilities seem so crushingly obvious. But I have increasingly come to worry that there is an error at the core of this unquestioned goodness. We are not thinking critically enough about where and when transparency works, and where and when it may lead to confusion, or to worse. And I fear that the inevitable success of this movement—if pursued alone, without any sensitivity to the full complexity of the idea of perfect openness—will inspire not reform, but disgust. The “naked transparency movement,” as I will call it here, is not going to inspire change. It will simply push any faith in our political system over the cliff.
This is spot on. Reminds me of when The Crimson’s news board was trying to write news stories about HR issues that arose on the editorial board as it was being deliberated… common sense was eschewed in the name of transparency. I’m not bitter anymore, I promise ;)
Against Transparency | The New Republic
Lessig on the pitfalls of complete transparency.
(via adamkatz)
