Intellectual Space

I've had lengthy philosophical discussions with Stephen Davis, a vocal and energetic support of Kinsellist ideology. Our longest thread ever is in the comments to this article: homesteadip.liberty.me/2014/09/08/roger-browne-deconstructed/ Finally, at long last, Stephen Davis had the intellectual honesty to admit what I've been saying all along. Kinsella's anti-IP theory is simply an elaborate philosophical hoax. Kinsella has cleverly built his conclusion (property must be physical) into his premise ("rivalry" must be physical, "use" must be physical, etc. After following him down every intellectual dark alley and up every intangible steep mountain, and showing at every turn that IP behaves identically...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 21

We at liberty.me are very fortunate to have among us doctor of jurisprudence Matt Gilliland. In opposing copyright, and wishing to educate me on principles of tort law, Gilliland has offered various comments in response to my article "Tell it to Tatiana". Frankly his comments don't make much sense to me, but then again, I haven't yet earned my J.D. Hopefully Gilliland will come and clear things up here. My position, and the accepted libertarian position, is that all legal rights are property rights. This begins, first and foremost, with the property right we all have in our own physical...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 1

Tatiana Moroz is a wonderfully talented singer-songwriter, lover of liberty, and member here at liberty.me. A few months ago I engaged her on the issue of copyright. I asked Tatiana if it was OK that I downloaded her songs, put my own name on as writer, and then licensed them for use on a TV show so that I could collect the license fees and performance royalties for myself. Tatiana was reluctant to take a position on copyright, with me anyway, and I get it. I think she feels really conflicted. On the one hand, she instinctively understands that her...

By Alexander Baker Vote1 28

As a thought experiment, suppose you were judge / jury and asked to decide a dispute about ownership of a car. Suppose we live in a Kinsellist society, with respect for property rights in physical things, but no observance of patent, copyright, or any form of IP. Albert possesses a car, which appears to be a brand-new "Pluto 4000", a well-known sophisticated car model manufactured by Brian Motors. Albert claims he built the car with his own hands and own materials, from scratch. Brian owns the car factory, and does business as "Brian Motors". Brian claims that Albert sneaked into...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 21

Toady marks the 200th Anniversary of slave-owner Francis Scott Key's poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry", later renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", set to the tune of a traditional English drinking song, and officially made "our" National Anthem. Although the War of 1812 can at least arguably be construed as "defensive", the anthem has long since been effectively used to inspire support for the United States' endless wars of naked aggression. Below is my version, written last night. What would happen if a famous singer belted these words at the next big ball game? The Star-Spangled Bomber Oh say can you...

By Alexander Baker Vote3 0

Never forget . . . The state told you this was a "collapse". You were so traumatized, you believed them. Two of the largest steel structures on earth were literally dissociated into microscopic dust particles, and spread out all over lower Manhattan. The huge spike in radioactivity was blamed on tritium from the "exit signs" in the "airplanes". Workers discovered glowing hot molten metal weeks later. Underground "anaerobic fires" continued to "burn" for months on end, despite being covered with acres of fresh dirt, constant watering, rainstorms, and freezing temperatures. Strontium and barium, the chemical fingerprint of reacted plutonium, were...

By Alexander Baker Vote3 4

There's been a bit of a stir lately over the naked pictures of Jennifer Lawrence that hackers were able to copy and distribute. Suppose it happened to you. Suppose a guy named Zeke hacks and copies all your personal information, including name, address, phone, bank numbers, intimate photos . . . everything. Zeke then publishes all this on his own site, for all the world to see. Within a few hours, hundreds of people download copies of all your info. In my favored society, i.e. a stateless free society founded on respect for property rights (including copyright), the legal recourse...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 5

Here are comments from Roger Browne (quoted) with my comments (interspersed). 1. A singer would indeed be unlikely to buy a song she has never heard, from a songwriter she has never heard of. That’s not the situation I was intending to describe. I’m thinking of an established songwriter who is writing a new work. Do you imagine that some babies are born as established songwriters? Without exception, every "established" songwriter began as an unknown songwriter. Perhaps a singer commissioned the work to be written, on the basis of the writer’s reputation and previous work. What previous work? See, like...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 75

Below is the section "Music Without Intellectual Property" from Stephan Kinsella's "Do Business Without Intellectual Property". Kinsella would have done well to learn just a little about the subject before writing about it. Had he done so, he might have discovered that music must be written (by a writer) before it is performed (by an artist). Here are Kinsella's talking points (quoted) with my comments (interspersed) Music without Intellectual Property • Free distribution. Musicians make their money from other sources. Let people copy your hits. Let YouTube flourish. People will want to buy tickets to hear your concerts. There's no...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 6

Economic goods are scarce. One might think that scarcity arises from the quantity of things in existence. After all, look around. There are only so many rocks, so many fruit trees, an so on. This view, however, is wrong. Other than naturally-occurring, super-abundant free goods (like atmospheric air), goods must be produced. All production involves the expenditure of human effort. Human effort is limited. No matter how hard you try, there is only so much you can do. The supply of physical matter is literally inexhaustible. The quantity of aluminum, just near the Earth's surface, is so vast that we...

By Alexander Baker Vote3 72

In attempting to distract from the vaccuous nature of his anti-IP theory, Stephan Kinsella offers "The Non-Aggression Principle as a Limit on Action, Not Property Rights". This alleged distinction is the reddest of red herrings, and amounts to nothing more than semantics. The cornerstone of Kinsella's thesis is that IP is invalid because enforcing IP necessarily imposes restrictions on the use of physical property by others. "This is my pen, my ink, and my paper. Who are you to tell me I may not write down a copy of your book?" As I and several others have pointed out, all...

By Alexander Baker Vote1 12

Steven Andrew Stalma asks: Could you explain how force should be used against someone who copies your music? Unauthorized copying is a form a trespass. It's like sneaking into a factory and using the machines to make widgets for yourself. It's like "borrowing" someone's car without permission, then returning it. Trespassers may be sued under tort law. How a free society will provide a legal system is a great discussion. But whatever your solution for trespass, that's the solution. How can there be an objective measure of justice in such a matter? Assessing and enforcing a just remedy is a...

By Alexander Baker Vote1 17

Liberty.me member Joseph Fetz has chimed in trying to defend CENSORED Fetz (quoted) CENSORED one of Kinsella's favorite CENSORED arguments, necessitating my responses (interspersed). “Own” [a song] is begging the question. Sure, we can prove who owns a truck by regressing through property titles and transactions of that scarce resource. However, if I have a recording of a song, one that I found on the internet and downloaded, what criteria proves ownership? Ownership of a song is proven by regressing through property titles and transactions of that scarce resource, just like a truck. It would seem to me that ownership...

By Alexander Baker Vote2 8

Introduction In several places, I have have presented a comparison between the physical object (a bicycle) and the intangible (a song). A song is like a bicycle (the consumer good) AND a bicycle factory (the producer good). Unauthorized copying is trespass, because it is like sneaking into the factory and running the assembly line. Stephen Davis argues that the analogy is flawed: You state (correctly) that Betty's trespass is wrong because "the owner of property is entitled to exclude others from using it, even when not using it himself." You state (incorrectly) that I'm assuming rivalry must be physical. Here...

By Alexander Baker Vote1 44

My use of my song is to mass-produce and sell copies. Your unauthorized copying interferes with my use to the precise extent that my use is reduced below 100%. That is a wholly OBJECTIVE measure of your interference of my use.

By Alexander Baker Vote2 95

Atmospheric air is the best (possibly only) example of a non-scarce, non-rivalrous free good. Think about air. It pre-exists humanity. We didn't have to find air, or manufacture it in any way. What's more, air does not need to be delivered. It blankets the surface of the whole earth, and presents itself in front of everyone's face, right where it is needed. Now consider air that is inside of a scuba tank. The scuba tank also presents air right where it is needed - underwater. But breathable air in tanks underwater does not pre-exist humanity. No, it must first be...

By Alexander Baker Vote0 23

“Future Law” An episodic VIDEO SERIES dedicated to WONDERMENT and DEBATE about a LEGAL SYSTEM in our FUTURE FREE SOCIETY Hosted by Jeffrey Tucker featuring Stephan Kinsella and Alexander Baker Synopsis Each EPISODE opens with Jeffrey reading a PASSAGE from a promoted BOOK or improvised VIGNETTE In his one-of-a-kind endearing intellectual style of bow-tie sophistication, Jeffrey offers his QUESTIONS, WONDERMENT and MUSINGS on some aspect of our FUTURE FREE SOCIETY. Jeffrey then introduces libertarian philosopher, legal scholar, patent attorney, Anti-IP guru, resident raconteur and all around genius Stephan Kinsella; and upstart libertarian philosopher, music composer and...

By Alexander Baker Vote1 0

I propose a debate on IP between myself and Stephan Kinsella, moderated by Jeffrey Tucker. I am willing to make a $500 donation to Liberty.me for the privilege. Libertarian IP Debate Both debaters are libertarians, and agree on the fundamental concepts of the non-aggression principle and self-ownership. Both favor the voluntary society. Alexander Baker supports copyright. Baker will argue that copyright is consistent with libertarian principles, that it would and should be enforced in a libertarian society. Stephan Kinsella opposes all forms of intellectual property (IP). Kinsella will argue that IP is inconsistent with libertarian principles, that it would...

By Alexander Baker Vote19 41

YouTube is Glorious YouTube is a glorious testament to the ability of creative, free people to produce an abundance of entertainment and education content. YouTube is huge, prosperous and still growing rapidly. And, YouTube enforces copyright. These facts are not unrelated. Libertarians understand that private property rights are an essential cornerstone of prosperity. Incentive? Calculation? Abolishing Property is Cruel Sadly, history is replete with examples of tyrants abolishing property rights to producer goods, like farmland, with predictable, disastrous results: starvation. After all, why would a farmer do the hard work plowing, tilling, planting, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting if only to...

By Alexander Baker Vote3 43

I'm trying to learn whether copying, plagiarism, and false attribution are morally wrong. Or, is "copyright" simply a creation of the state, criminalizing what would otherwise be acceptable behavior? I've created a stylized fable here that raises legal issues. Even if you don't wish to fully work through the multiple-choice problems I present, please comment on whether you feel these behaviors are, or are not, morally permissible in a free society. * * * Suppose we live in a voluntary, stateless society. Dispute Resolution Agencies (DROs) exist to enforce tort law and...

By Alexander Baker Vote3 77

Top Stephan Kinsella Supporter Admits Hoax . . . Finally Sep 17, 2014

Principles of Tort Law According to Matt Gilliland, J.D. Sep 17, 2014

Tell It to Tatiana Sep 16, 2014

Who Owns the Car? You be the Judge Sep 16, 2014

The Star-Spangled Banner – 200th Anniversary Re-Write Sep 14, 2014

9/11 Mushroom Cloud Remembrance Sep 11, 2014

Jennifer Lawrence and Another Question for Intellectual Communists Sep 10, 2014

Roger Browne Deconstructed Sep 8, 2014

Kinsella: Music Without Intellectual Property Sep 7, 2014

Scarcity Arises From the Limitations of Human Action Sep 3, 2014

The Non-Aggression Principle as a Limit on Action, i.e. Property Rights Sep 3, 2014

Sep 2, 2014

Aritcle Aug 29, 2014

Songs Are Like Factories (a deeper look) Aug 29, 2014

Intangible Goods ARE Rivalrous (nutshell) Aug 25, 2014

IP: Which Is It More Like? Aug 18, 2014

Jul 11, 2014

@ Stephan Kinsella: Libertarian IP Debate Challenge Jun 12, 2014

@ Jeffrey Tucker – YouTube Enforces Copyright Jun 4, 2014

No State, No IP. You be the Judge! May 29, 2014