Tim Worstall

The National DNA Database

Two slightly different views. Sam Leith:

That is why it needs to be resisted. It is based on
the alarming rationale that there exists an absolute divide (one
expressed in an abrogation of your right to privacy) not only between
all those who have ever broken any law and the rest of the population
but also between all those who have ever been suspected of breaking the
law and the rest of the population. That’s not the characteristic view
of a free society. Our privacy is something that belongs to us: not
something the Government gives us, on probation, as a favour. They
serve us: not vice versa. This may be a matter of principle, but it is
one that could scarcely have more profound practical importance.

The
only way to make absolutely certain that a national DNA database is not
subject to abuse – by this police service or any successor police
service; by this Government or any successor government – is to make
absolutely certain that such a database does not exist in the first
place.

Neil Harding:


To be fair we need to store DNA on everybody

Odd how, as a liberal, I’m drawn to the viewpoint expressed in the most reactionary of the broadsheets rather than that of a cheerleader for the current left wing (ish) government.

In

7 responses

  1. Jeff Wood Avatar
    Jeff Wood

    “Odd how, as a liberal…”
    Snap. Issue after issue, commentators of the Right seem to get it better than those of the Left. “It” is of course Liberty, and most of the Left seem to be agin it.
    The present government is turning Britain into a high-tech version of the old East Germany, with consumerism bolted on.
    Increasingly, I skip their cheerleaders in the Guardian and move on to the Torygraph. There, the comment section tries for clarity of thought.

    Reply
  2. Kay Tie Avatar
    Kay Tie

    “most of the Left seem to be agin it.”
    Only because Nu Labour is in power. Watch how quickly they are for it when there is a Tory Government.
    Remember how Labour MP Chris Mullins used to campaign against miscarriages of justice? He must be spinning in his grave if it weren’t for the fact he’s not dead yet.

    Reply
  3. Philip Thomas Avatar
    Philip Thomas

    Too right, Kay Tie. I’m a Tory but I get the feeling that when they eventually regain power I’ll be moving onto some other party because I won’t be able to handle the illiberalism that’ll proceed in my name. If you ask me, there’s a big gap for freedom advocates in national politics that the Liberal Democrats should be seizing.

    Reply
  4. bill Avatar
    bill

    Well said Katie. First time I’ve agreed with a post by you.
    I assume Tim’s use of the word “reactionary” is pure hyperbole.
    Tim adds: Hyperbole? Here?

    Reply
  5. JuliaM Avatar
    JuliaM

    “He must be spinning in his grave if it weren’t for the fact he’s not dead yet.”
    Doesn’t ‘from the neck up’ count…?

    Reply
  6. Roger Thornhill Avatar
    Roger Thornhill

    Phillip Thomas: If you ask me, there’s a big gap for freedom advocates in national politics that the Liberal Democrats should be seizing.
    They could if they changed their views and left the party. Better to keep all these half-wits and patronising, naive buffoons in one or three places.

    Reply
  7. Roger Thornhill Avatar
    Roger Thornhill

    Apologies for mis-spelling your name, Philip.

    Reply

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