Richard Dobson wrote:
On 21/09/2011 09:38, Michael Chapman wrote:
..
What purpose is that? Who decides what the purpose is?
Unless one rejects inheritance taxes, wealth taxes, etc., etc. one
is left with the fact that one has accepted a situation where one has
'a balance'. Perhaps the worst imaginable situation ... except all
the others ... but there it is. Akin to "all property belongs to the
monarch and one holds it under licence", but nowadays "society" not
the "monarch". Those taxes pay for the police who I hope -if
vainly- may catch your burglars and return your property.
Last time I checked, taxes have to be paid with hard cash; and the
principle has been long established at least in liberal democracies of
"no taxation without representation". If I could pay my tax by handing
even 10% of my "intellectual property" (including knowing how to teach
people to play the flute, which I also consider part of my personal IP)
to the state, that would be great. Of course, that skill (however
uniquely and inventively expressed) is not patentable anyway. Remember,
the original proposition was "Intellectual property... does not exist
naturally - it is something granted by society to individuals", which I
regard as mere sophistry, at best - a typical example of what I could
call "GPL fundamentalism", in which "information wants to be free"
remains the most daft pseudo-anthropomorphic statement ever said by
anyone. "information" is an abstract mathematical or philosophical
concept, possibly a "thing", but definitely not a sentient life-form who
"wants" anything.
Well spoken. This was the reason why I was talking about certain "circles".
Believing that < any > software needs a GPL sticker on it (cos this is
"best for society" etc.) doesn't mean everybody has to join this religion.
Best,
Stefan
P.S.: "Strangely", professional programmers are mostly not consulted in
these discussions. If you would ask them, I bet > 90% would vote against
GPL fundamentalism. If this matters at all...
P.S. 2: I know that Mr. Stallman thinks otherwise, but still...
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