Anita Allen's recent book, Unpopular Privacy: What Must We Hide?, centers on a neglected area of privacy scholarship. Allen argues that there are areas of privacy that are fundamental and should be protected by liberal egalitarian governments despite the wishes of individual citizens. For example, the “don't ask, don't tell” policy adopted by the US military in the 1990s forced privacy on soldiers who may have wanted to disclose their sexual preferences. Within a liberal, feminist, and egalitarian framework, which is hostile to government interference with individual choice, Allen advances a moderate paternalism with respect to privacy. Allen writes, “We should live some of our lives in private, some in public; and there is often a role for government in requiring us to live this way. Privacy is too important to be left entirely to chance and taste” (196).
In the opening chapter, “Privacies Not Wanted,” Allen notes that...
