| > No, tangible items are inherently controllable because they are rivalrous and excludable. You missed my point. Tangible things are only as inherently controllable as the capacity of the owner to control them. Without "legal fictions", what's to keep someone more capable than you to simply take it from you? After all that's your argument against copyright: people can just take it, so owners have no control. What stops a bully from taking your school lunch? > Sure they have, but just because it happens sometimes does not contradict the self-evident fact that people love to share. "Sometimes"?! It happens all the time! It's been happening since the existence of competition over limited resources, even before humans consciously realized knowledge is power! Think of all the "priests" throughout various cultures in history. Think of why encryption exists. Think of why the CIA and NSA exist. Saying something is self-evident doesn't make it so. >Next time you send someone a lolcat, remember that. Heh, I don't send lolcats. Guess I'm not human, then :-P > Rape, murder, theft, these are all behaviours that are (1) not the common case and (2) inflict harm because the objects of the crimes are essentially rivalrous Wait, by (1) you mean if rape, murder, theft ever become the common case, it will be OK? You know, like when it happens during wars? And (2) what's so rivalrous about sex? You can have sex with multiple people simultaneously, and once somebody has had sex does not mean they cannot have it again. And heck, we have the technology to make it so people don't even remember having sex, so there's no harm done! But you know what is rivalrous? The food, shelter and clothing creators need to live to create new works. > Arguments about quality of the information are completely orthogonal to the topic The characteristics of the information do matter matter in determining what protections are afforded it. Would you share here all your private information, financial accounts, photos, and so on? That's just knowledge after all, and it's human nature to share. Or say you get "doxxed" and it's all out on the Internet, you'd be OK with people sharing it? No? Oh, it's your private information, and suddenly you feel it should not be shared? Thank god for privacy laws but down with copyright laws! Funny how that works. |
Laws don't keep people from taking tangible items, they only punish afterwards. The only thing that stops someone from taking something tangible from you is your ability to stop them. Nothing stops someone from making a copy of information they already have.
Think of all the "priests" throughout various cultures in history. Think of why encryption exists. Think of why the CIA and NSA exist.
Secret versus public knowledge. They are two entirely different things. This discussion is about intentionally published knowledge.
Wait, by (1) you mean if rape, murder, theft ever become the common case, it will be OK? You know, like when it happens during wars?
Even during war none of those is the common case. That's why we prosecute people for those crimes in times of war too. If those things actually become the common case, we can cross that bridge when we come it.
But you know what is rivalrous? The food, shelter and clothing creators need to live to create new works.
Yes sir, Mr Valenti!
Would you share here all your private information
Again, secret versus public.