http://www.faz.net/s/Rub475F682E3FC2486 ... ntent.html
"I'm convinced the sudden fixation with 'security laws' (both the cyber and physical variety) stems from a realization of how vulnerable the modern world - and specifically the global economy - has become to even minor disruptions. Hand in hand with this trend is the swift abandonment of rule of law itself in the name of ‘national security' (e.g., the loss of habeas corpus here in the United States, and the ongoing warrant-less wiretapping, etc.). The swift abandonment of cherished and hard-won rights points to something seriously wrong.
Historically a society abandons or perverts the rule of law when the sovereign authority finds itself under threat, but I would argue that in many nations government itself is no longer the supreme political authority, but merely an agent of the real authority - which is the multinational corporate ecosystem. And it is that system which is under threat.
How? In a word: efficiency.
In the past century corporatism has grown to dominate every industry throughout the world, and the guiding principle of the corporate form is efficiency. Corporate consolidations in agriculture, media, finance, telecom, energy, etc. have eliminated large amounts of 'fat' from our infrastructure, increasing profits and centralizing management. But a reasonable amount of 'fat' actually serves a purpose in the natural world -- it helps an organism survive sudden disruptions. And sudden disruptions come sooner or later -- whether a disruption of raw material inputs (e.g., oil, fresh water, capital etc.), major natural and manmade disasters, subversion by outsiders (a terrorist bombing), or unscrupulous insiders (Wall Street bankers)."