Post
Topic
Board Politics & Society
Re: Ayn Rand
by
bitbit
on 12/04/2013, 19:11:32 UTC
Put simply: Ideas aren't property.

You can't own a pattern of bits.

Ideas/information are not a pattern of bits Smiley That is a very materialistic view.

If information is not property, then privacy laws have no moral basis. Espionage should be perfectly legal. If one breaks into a house and find sensitive information the break-in itself will be punishable, but not the spreading of sensitive information found in the house during the break-in. One could also prick someone with a needle and acquire blood which allows one to get hold of that person’s DNA. A needle prick in itself is not a major violation and would therefore not be severly punished, but to map that other person’s DNA and spread sensitive data about that person’s genetic disorder must be legal since this is only information, which is not property.

Furthermore, to be consistent anti-IP people must argue that contracts cannot exist because all that exists are atoms. In other words, one can scribble on a piece of paper or make sounds with one’s mouth, but these cannot be legally binding since information does not exist.