Libertarians and DRM

June 24, 2007 8 Comments

As a follow-up to the last post, I am particularly disturbed by the trend among some libertarians (not ones on the staff of Reason, thankfully) to take a militantly pro-industry stance about intellectual property.  Anyone who can look at the media industry’s reaction to rampant file-sharing by making it increasingly difficult to buy and use music and movies, and not see a total failure to engage with the market, needs a serious perspective adjustment.  Not to mention that the fact that it is the media companies which are lobbying for increasingly intrusive regulations should raise red flags in any liberty-oriented mind.  Government props for an industry which refuses to change with the times isn’t “pro-market”, it’s simply good old-fashioned protectionism.  Which, last I checked, was not on the list of things libertarians approve of.

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8 Comments

  1. smitty1e June 25, 2007 at 01:59

    I’m all for letting DRM into the market, so long as it’s clearly marked, so I can avoid it like the plague it is.

  2. c4bl3fl4m3 June 25, 2007 at 18:48

    For some reason I read “libertarians” as “librarians”.

    Must be too much time spent at the ALA (American Libraries Association) con. 🙂

    1. avdi June 25, 2007 at 19:43

      I do that all the time… and vice-versa. And it cracks me up every time.

      1. c4bl3fl4m3 June 25, 2007 at 19:50

        LOLZ.

        You know, I had the idea of doing LOL LibraryConz at the ALA con I went to this weekend. I should have taken some pics at LibraryCon2007 (that’s what I’m calling it) and turned them into LOLLibraryConz.

        I’m in ur librariez readin ur bookz.

        I’m at ur conz takin ur advanced reader copiez.

        I’m at ur conz playin ur DDR. (swear to god. the ALA tech booth had a PS2 and a Wii and was demonstrating Guitar Hero 2, DDR, and a number of Wii games like tennis and Cooking Mama.)

        Can I has advanced reader copiez?

        Can I has swag?

        I are serious librarian. This be serious con.

        …and the like. I’ll see if I can get any pics from someone’s Flickr and make ’em.

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