The money line from FT’s welcome editorial comment today on government transparency: “But the reasons for hiding public information too often stem from fear of embarrassment, force of habit or politicians going cold on previous ideals – not the public interest.”

We sometimes mistake institutional inertia, inexperience, and even incompetence, with more deliberate resistance to transparency (or to tech innovation more generally). When you point the finger at the institution, looking for the gatekeeper with something to hide, you’ll probably find something without looking too hard. And shock and embarrassment are necessary weapons for change-makers to keep in their disruptive arsenal.

But don’t forget to point the finger back toward yourself and your new approaches and ask yourself “Have I done everything I could to teach away fear and build new habits through small-step changes with easy wins?”

The FT also notes the progress in the UK on government transparency and mentions the “WikiLeaks furore.” (At least that’s what it said this morning.) I wonder if it’s a typo or they’re subtly implying that you never know how “e” will disrupt things.