The Circle (Spoiler Alert)

The Circle by Dave Eggers is about a Google style technology company dominating the internet in the near future. The Circle (also the name of the company) connects all of your internet accounts into one login. However they later branch into a variety of various projects in an attempt to make the world a better place. By the end The Circle gains control of the US government with plans to control other government as well. They control over 90% of all the worlds’ searches with no competition in the search engine industry.

            

When I first started reading The Circle I was impressed. The Circle seemed to be a benevolent company doing their best to advance human rights around the world. The best mind of a generation working together to make the world the best it ever has or could be. But as the book went on I grew nervous about what The Circle’s end game was. They gained more and more power and gained more control over the public sector.

           

The Circle took control of the US government and made it illegal to not have a Circle account. They stripped people of their privacy and because they were so used to no one put up a fight. This book really scared me because it painted a picture of a world where any government instantly knows about dissent. A world where the world government is controlled by a single, private, corporation. A world where that single, private corporation controls all the information in the world. Think about how most modern uprisings have taken place, through social media. But if the government controls social media, as well as every other way of communicating. There are also video cameras placed everywhere. How can an uprising take place? People have no privacy, not to mention the violation of Fourth Amendments rights. The Fourth Amendments states that the government cannot search or seize you property without a warrant. But all of that is irrelevant if the government has cameras and sensors in every one’s home that measure your every movement and call the police if you make a movement that is sudden or sharp.

          

The Circle may have started with the right idea, but it grew out of control. It took over the world, creating a perfect Big Brother society. But the kicker is that everyone is either happy with Big Brother, or being chased, and pulled in to the society by those who do.