[milo]

Actually i was going to make a thread about it but this seems to be as good a place as any. Im having a bit of a crisis of er philosophy. You see i now accept that global intellectual development occurs better if the ideas of individuals aren't protected. That may seem an obvious thing to say but its fairly profound to me.

The internet has allowed part timers and amateurs to develop products that are as good if not better than ones produced by corporations. The bureaucracy that is inherent in capitalist intellectual proprietry makes it far less effecient at developing new ideas. As a basic example checking through patents is an enrormous task that is both time consuming and expensive. A system where no such restrictions exist makes it far easier to do something without having to worry about litigation. People who write free software aren't really worrying about patent restriction only the idea.

If the government brought intellectual development into the public sphere but excersised no control over it or allowed anyone to do likewise, a cure for AIDS could be found far quicker.