Anticopyright

by Rad Geek
http://c4ss.org/content/17029

Note: Since I earn most of my income from copyright, and hope to make a great deal more to come, I’m not inclined to accept this argument. However, I do accept that intellectual property in its present forms would not survive in the absence of a state to enforce it, and I accept that this raises at least a rebuttable presumption against its legitimacy. I also agree that there are other ways for historical novelists to earn a living that don’t involve calling on the power of the State. On the other hand, with much effort, and at much opportunity cost, I have created a large body of fiction that other people want to read. I don’t accept that this is other than my own property; and, if I feel uncertain about the legitimacy of the legal devices by which my publisher keeps the royalty checks drifting in, I certainly think ill of anyone who dares pirate my work. SIG

UK politics: falling apart

by Richard North
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=83574

Note: I entirely agree with Richard in this analysis. We are ruled by a cartel of insipid bribe-takers. Their only visible accountability is to the pressure groups they fund with our tax money. I am still inclined to vote Conservative next time round, because they are probably a little less malevolent than Labour. Even so, the consuming interest I used to feel in British politics has evaporated. I much prefer listening to music to watching programmes like Question Time. When I do take notice, it is only to denounce. There are no institutional means of reformation. I see no powerful forces for change outside the system. In an age so decadent as ours, the sole function of bodies like the Libertarian Alliance is to keep putting the argument for a better world – not with any hope of success, but simply because it will be easier for the next generation to take over a movement in being than to recreate one from scratch. SIG