We've come full circle. In older days, the belief was that if you knew someone's real name, then you could control them. Power lay in the knowledge of a True Name, be it person or object.
Now we see that the superstitions are not that far away from reality: identity theft has effects clearly linked to the old ideas. Having someone's True Name, perhaps in the form of fake or incomplete documentation, or merely by superficial pretence, can give you power over that person's current and future circumstances. It's not a big step from the impersonation crimes of today to a blackmail situation where an individual can be coerced into involuntary actions by the threat held over them.
Putting all our eggs in one basket, which is effectively what any identity card proposal will do, however it is dressed up, will only make matters worse. It's easy to imagine a scenario where a lost, stolen or faked ID can be used to force someone into committing a crime. How can anyone resist the threat of their definitive identification being used against them?
