tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post3760265373815740982..comments2023-10-31T03:18:26.963-07:00Comments on Great Guys Weblog: From Every Mountain Top ...Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-76892331109085490292007-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:002007-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:00Or not. I am a producer of IP and I agree much mor...Or not. I am a producer of IP and I agree much more with Bret.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-85095813552858152182007-12-23T08:18:00.000-08:002007-12-23T08:18:00.000-08:00Probably has something to do with whether you are ...Probably has something to do with whether you are a producer or consumer of IP.<BR/><BR/>I'm a producer.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-49730004276370435162007-12-22T12:56:00.000-08:002007-12-22T12:56:00.000-08:00Harry,I find it incredibly odd. My map of the ext...Harry,<BR/><BR/>I find it incredibly odd. My map of the extended order of human cooperation has a region called freedom. It's a rich, diverse and interesting place, ever changing. Oh yeah, IP is in there. Freedom is located between anarchy and statism. Based on your comments I get the impression that it's missing from your map.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14980738175201874292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-91566802731853284592007-12-22T10:05:00.000-08:002007-12-22T10:05:00.000-08:00Try reading Volokh Conspiracy. Glenn Reynolds also...Try reading Volokh Conspiracy. Glenn Reynolds also often links to anti-IP posts, though I'm not clear what his view is.<BR/><BR/>The tech group I used to meet with on Wednesdays (until everybody but me got too busy making money) was mostly anti-IP, except, of course, when they had some.<BR/><BR/>There was one exception, whom I admired. He would copyright his programs, then assign them to the public domain.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-44292858695960768792007-12-21T19:10:00.000-08:002007-12-21T19:10:00.000-08:00Harry,Which free-marketeers are those?I mean, yes,...Harry,<BR/><BR/>Which free-marketeers are those?<BR/><BR/>I mean, yes, there is a debate about what what extent of IP rights are optimal, and it is true that some economists have called for the abolition of IP rights, but it isn't a very common view from what I can see.<BR/><BR/>I think the patent system has some serious problems and that the period of patent protection ought to be shortened. That's different, though, from calling for the elimination of all IP rights.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-12221615758468808012007-12-21T17:46:00.000-08:002007-12-21T17:46:00.000-08:00I didn't say they were sufficient, but I do say th...I didn't say they were sufficient, but I do say they are necessary.<BR/><BR/>So why are the free-marketeers trying to do away with intellectual property rights?<BR/><BR/>It does get complicated. Intellectual property rights are pretty much imaginary in Japan, which manages to be rich anyway, and to create new intellectual property.<BR/><BR/>This is accomplished partly by theft of American intellectual property; and partly by denyig economic freedom at the level where big-time intellectual property is converted into things.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-55968859336066541282007-12-21T11:53:00.000-08:002007-12-21T11:53:00.000-08:00Bret beat me to it. The quickest way to riches is...Bret beat me to it. The quickest way to riches is to steal and probably Harry will argue that the great fortunes were made that way (or at least cheating the little guy). <BR/><BR/>If Putin is the richest guy in the world now, how will that help his self esteem. He still looks like the model for the gollem in the LOTR.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-50730226457387429022007-12-21T11:38:00.000-08:002007-12-21T11:38:00.000-08:00Strong individual property rights are a necessary,...Strong individual property rights are a necessary, but not sufficient condition, for wealth creation.<BR/><BR/>You're certainly right, Harry, that theft at the point of a sword, or gun, or nuclear missile is the quickest way to riches.<BR/><BR/>However, without setting people free to interact and trade as they see fit, there will be no riches in the first place.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-43618747478801159002007-12-21T10:34:00.000-08:002007-12-21T10:34:00.000-08:00Well, no, it's not, erp. I just read that Vlad Put...Well, no, it's not, erp. I just read that Vlad Putin is the richest man in Europe.<BR/><BR/>I might point out, for all you free-marketeers, who by some odd evolution have reversed themselves about personalty in intellectual property since I was young, that the only countries that have large amounts of intellectual property also are countries that have intellectual property rights protections, thus interfering with free markets.<BR/><BR/>The one creates the other, and there is an 'arrow of time' about it. It does not work the other way.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-62115876815745123442007-12-21T06:48:00.000-08:002007-12-21T06:48:00.000-08:00And it's probably less grim than being set 'free' ...And it's probably less grim than being set 'free' in a non-capitalist society with nothing but one's labor.Susan's Husbandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02862667802025231163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-89529776606694930942007-12-21T05:59:00.000-08:002007-12-21T05:59:00.000-08:00... and yet that's how all the fortunes, great and...... and yet that's how all the fortunes, great and small were amassed.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-23619856463137759552007-12-20T19:48:00.000-08:002007-12-20T19:48:00.000-08:00The burakumin might quibble about this.I do not re...The burakumin might quibble about this.<BR/><BR/>I do not recall, historically, that the freest period of American free-market capitalism was a time of great contentment about personal rights, either.<BR/><BR/>Capitalism works best if you have capital, the more the better. Being set 'free' in a capitalist society with nothing to swap but your labor can be a grim experience.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.com