Transparent Society

Transparency is a false ideal, and the most intense and harmful modern myth.

Today's society demands transparency everywhere,
but the ever-increasing amount of information has not made the world more transparent.
The more information released, the more chaotic the world becomes.

The human mind clearly needs a realm where it can be alone with itself, without encountering the gaze of others. Opacity is one of the mind's requirements. If it were completely transparent and bright, the mind would burn out, leading to a special "mental burnout." Only machines are transparent. The spontaneous actions, important events, and freedom that shape life absolutely cannot be transparent or visible. ──Byung-Chul Han

"Transparency" is the modern order/state. It is a commonly used term and slogan in public discourse when discussing corruption and freedom of information. Transparency is considered indispensable in democratic systems, not only affecting our political and economic lives but also our private lives. Anyone can obtain information about anything. Everything, and even everyone, becomes transparent: the organizations that carry out this process of disclosure and revelation impose a kind of collective control over the post-capitalist world.

Ironically, however, the dark side of transparency has a lot to do with the lack of mystery, shadow, and nuance. After knowledge became accessible, it brought about the disappearance of privacy, homogenization, and the collapse of trust. The anxiety of constantly wanting to accumulate more information does not necessarily create more knowledge or belief. Technology creates the illusion that information can be comprehensively contained and monitored in real time, but what we lack is proper interpretation of information. In this manifesto, Byung-Chul Han criticizes transparency as a false ideal and the most intense and harmful modern myth.