Corporatocracy
By the beginning of the novel, The Circle has subsumed Facebook, Google, Twitter and many other social media sites, giving the company greater influence over the general populace than major politicians. This popularity pressures politicians into going 'transparent', a condition which causes them to be recorded at all times, thereby quashing political corruption. Throughout the novel, it is heavily implied that the company plays an active role in framing politicians in opposition to their vision. The company later develops a system of voting called Demoxie, which requires every citizen to publish their vote through a Circle account. According to Kathrin Maurer and Christian F. Rostbøll, this creates a vision of the future in which "the Web not only supplements democratic institutions but becomes the only institution in society — knowing, organizing, and administering everything."[5]
Privacy
Paraphrasing George Orwell's 1984, The Circle devises three mantras: “Secrets are lies, sharing is caring, privacy is theft.” This philosophy is chiefly communicated by Eamon Bailey, the face of the company. Many of the ideas in the text at first appear to be utopian, such as the wide-scale reduction of crime and corruption through public mass-market hidden webcams called SeeChange. Bailey argues that denying other human beings the right to see every lived moment gives rise to lies, selfishness, corruption and deceit on a mass scale. However, the cameras soon begin to infringe on civil liberties, with even private sex acts or nature visits being recorded. Once Mae goes transparent, she is unable to have authentic conversations with others, who often use her camera as a means of self-promotion. She also finds herself self-policing mundane behaviors, such as eating junk food, taking pharmaceuticals or telling white lies.
