It's possible that you aren't thinking of the west in terms of the last 100 years. I feel like sometimes when we're all discussing privacy on here, we forget surveillance is iterative as an industry as well. This isn't the first time that privacy has attempted to be eroded.

Here are a few for you to consider: Post 9/11: the tracking of muslim american communities and all that came from Snowden's disclosures

Interment of Japanese Americans: identify, tracked and literally interned during WWII

WWII Axis decisions: the tracking, internment, and death of Jews, Slavs, gypsies and others

WWI: The Wilson administration banned radical and Socialist journals from the mail system, jailed the leader of the Socialist party even though ~1% of the US population voted for the guy

McCarthyism which was shown to be used against political rivals as much as it was against socialists

The list honestly goes on and on. A government cannot be trusted with expanded surveillance tools and there just needs to be oversight. Its not to say it shouldnt exist, its to say it should always be viewed with a critical gaze.

As far as the ideological goal sitting above your security, its important to remember that your ideological goal may be at odds. Democracy was at odds. Socialism is at odds. Freedom of religion in communist china and russia was at odds with the existing govt. Its easy to say these things when we feel like we're on the 'right' side and things will never change.