For as we dissolve into bits of data, the informational system does carry out its own determinations according to the logic of its necessary global interactions. The potential distribution of information is simply too great, too instantaneous, and too uncertain to allow much confidence in the efficacy of community standards for its use. So anonymous transactions become the ideal. Because, in an age of increasing vulnerability, privacy acts as our security cushion. The issue for privacy advocates, however, is not whether we are being violated, it's whether we can be violated.
Privacy is preventive .
A preventive stance may be necessary, but we need to realize that it is also symptomatic of a battle being lost. A simple analogy might help. Most of us are daily in positions where someone could easily walk up to us, pull a gun or knife, and kill us. On the other hand, when the risk of the crime becomes too great, we have little choice but to minimize our exposure. Again, some actions of this sort may be necessary, but we must realize that they are signs of a losing battle and may actually worsen the underlying causes of the problems.