From: Jason Joel Thompson (jasonjthompson@home.com)
Date: Thu Jul 13 2000 - 16:35:22 MDT
Okay, I've managed some serious posts on this topic in the last two days and
I want to add a general comment about the major issues here.
As I see it, technology is enabling the ease of distribution of information.
If we then argue this as a reason for the removal of ownership of
information, it is only a technological hop, skip and jump before we remove
ownership of material goods as well. This is not some sort of arbitrary
slippery slope argument: I don't draw strong distinctions between
information and matter because, frankly, I believe matter -is- information.
Right now we download music from the net... tomorrow, we're downloading
automobiles.
If I can point a device at an Intel factory and then go print out their
latest super chip on my deluxe household NanoMax!(tm) I think it becomes
clear that relgating theft to the realm of forcible entry or
non-reproducible goods is *really* short sighted.
Why don't we like theft? Because if I don't get to see reward for a
particular type of work, I'll stop doing it. Positive feedback is not only
necessary for our economy, it is, in my opinion, the defining motivator of
the auto-evolutionary movement. We have to continue to engineer selection
forces to create favorable environments for the production of things we
want. Nature can take care of us only so far... making sure we feed
ourselves and mate with each other. It is our responsibility now to create
our own environment, custom built to reward behavior that we desire.
Arbitrary removal of reward systems is not a good idea! If we don't want
something, fine, but our desire for information and our desire for the
evolution and refinement of information is only going to increase. Let's
continue to motivate people to produce the most innovative stuff possible.
I've never considered myself a capitalist per se, but I think it's quite
clear what humans are capable of producing in the pursuit of wealth.
---
--
::jason.joel.thompson::
::wild.ghost.studios::
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