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We may trust people who lie to us directly, betray us shamelessly and violate our privacy without cause or apology, if only they meet one of two conditions: that they appear to be on our side, or that we have no other choice. How else to account for Western citizens’ acceptance of a system that surreptitiously infiltrates innocent peoples’ email accounts, cellphones and web browsers?

Having been violated, the people of Western states have still opted – albeit with much reservation – to trust their violators, who happen also to be their representatives, to protect their interests rather than to offer them an ultimatum of either ending the violations or losing elections. Their trust defies reason.

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Except, that is, where it doesn’t: the complexity of the issue suggests to voters that their only option is to trust that their governments will know how to manage it; the issue’s blurring of ideological lines suggests to them that they can trust that their own government is on their side.