Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Spirit Of Intellectual Property.

Humans are cabable of abstraction and in contemplation a human can discover something that was apparently invisible to others.

What is this invisible source? First of all it is infinite so we - as finite beings - cannot comprehend it, let alone claim ownership. In effect, those who have discovered something actually have a gift to share with others. To reap a reward for enriching the lives of others is part of the blessing of discovery, but to arrogantly claim that others cannot speed up the process of gifting or that the idea from the invisible source has some finite ownership (namely your own); this is an ego-driven claim and act.

Part of the problem has to do with the symptoms of the disease of materialism. All that is seen is the visible, yet undeniably, the whole possibility of discovery in the first place originated from the invisible! The spirit of the intellect is neglected because of this disease and all the fruits of the spirit of the intellect are made into objects, as if objectification can truly represent what has taken place.

Intellectual property can be reduced to some small fraction of its reality by humans small-mindedly trying to squeeze the infinite into a finite box. Then the box is carried around like a child guarding a bird's egg found in a meadow.

Or intellectual property can be understood as part of the discovery process: part of the active entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the human reality; thankful to those who discover the gifts; making sure that the gifts are made available to everyone as quickly as possible; and determined to create an environment that activates the latent entrepreneurial spirit throughout human civilization.

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Bad Economics And Empiricism.

Henry Hazlitt defines bad economics as that which considers only what is the immediate outcome, and only what is the direct consequence of a proposed course, and only what the effect will be on one particular group.

In mainstream economics, what is the reliance on empiricism if not a snapshot? From the snapshot all kinds of interpretations are made but take a minute to think about what a snapshot represents. You take a picture of somebody buying dog food. There is nothing there other than that image frozen in time but from that image a whole host of suppositions are made and then upon those suppositions interventions into the affairs of people are suggested. Instead of calling it a snapshot it is given the lofty title of 'data' to make it sound 'scientific.'

Empiricism builds upon the snapshot ('data') and frankly it can go in whatever direction the interpreters wish it to go. For example, if the State is the one funding the 'scientific research' then the interpreter can interpret the snapshot in a way that is favorable to the State. This free rein of 'analysis' and 'policy' is very comfortable for the propagators of this system.

What is as evident as the Sun is that empiricism is a breeding ground of empiricism. Empiricism empowers the ego-driven interpreters and it empowers the ego-driven interventionists and these are the principle agents of the State.

The good economics of Henry Hazlitt stems from classical liberalism which rests upon subjectivism as the scientific method. Logic is what is relied on not some snapshot in time and place. Consequently the outcome is the complete opposite. Fundamentally there is no intervention into the economy so there is essentially no State and the whisperings of the ego-driven interpreters are scoffed.

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