Anonymity

Should bloggers be anonymous? Can they be trusted to disclose conflicts of interest when needed?

Grog (http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/), a fine and honest blogger, was recently identified against his wishes. As he notes, he works for the Government in a portfolio whose minister, Peter Garrett, he defended from attack over problems with an insulation program.

This issue has been written about comprehensively, but I want to offer my take; anonymity is a right, and disclosure of interest is a duty. That is, I have no problem with someone keeping their identity hidden. And, irrespective of anonymity, disclosure of conflict of interests must always be made, since the conflict is sometimes evident only to the author.

I like my anonymity because it affords the discretion in how I conduct my personal and public affairs; this is very much passion for me that I am proud of, but I don't want this to colour the relationships I have with others. For instance, my family would never understand that I intend to give the majority of my (very small) fortune away to charity. At some point, I'll need to discuss this with them, but I intend to do this at my convenience, not because I'm actively pursuing such an end.

More importantly, I don't want this to infringe on my ability to attain a job in Economics, or to work with people in that profession. People respect Warren Buffet and Bill gates no less because they intend to give away their money, but this is only because their business acumen and will is known. For a newcomer, this isn't possible. One day, this won't be the case, but that day is not today.