The ‘builders’ are better described as ‘profiteers’.
The panopticon is being requested and purchased by municipalities, which are predominantly governed by those from the baby boomer generation. Start-up 101. Build what the Users want.
Young blindly build Facebook like apps, old build a CCTV network.
Everything feels scary, try walking around at 2 a.m. and not feeling it. People are tired of it.
I don't think that all the surveillance will work. You always find the most amount of sketchy people around police stations. The cameras will make things worse. Good people will flee to other neighborhoods, were they are not being watched.
Because everyone might own a gun? I live in a fairly large German city and I am not aware of any no go areas there at night or day. Some areas of Berlin and Hamburg might have them but generally we are pretty safe here.
Good question. Younger people in general seem to be less fearful, presumably for reasons human nature (as your mobility, visual and mental acuity etc decrease the world simply becomes more dangerous, though most threats are things like bathtubs).
Also though the kids at the moment seem to understand better the risk/reward benefits of some technologies and have a better idea what actual risks they take. You see this in voting patterns.
Getting younger people who give a shit to vote, and to become immune to the bogus fear mongering.
Hope the baby boomers die off of old age before the panopticon is built.