[Upd-discuss] Article: Copyleft vs. Copyright: A Marxist critique by Johan Sonderberg

[Zapopan Martin Muela-Meza]

Sonderberg, Johan. (2002). "Copyleft vs. Copyright: A Marxist critique."
First Monday, volume 7, number 3 (March 2002)
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_3/soderberg/index.html
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_3/soderberg/

    First Monday
    Copyleft vs. Copyright: A Marxist critique by Johan Soderberg
    Abstract

Copyright was invented by and for early capitalism, and its importance to
that system has grown ever since. To oppose copyright is to oppose
capitalism. Thus, Marxism is a natural starting point when challenging
copyright. Marx's concept of a 'general intellect', suggesting that at
some point a collective learning process will surpass physical labour as a
productive force, offers a promising backdrop to understand the
accomplishments of the free software community. Furthermore, the chief
concerns of hacker philosophy, creativity and technological empowerment,
closely correspond to key Marxist concepts of alienation, the division of
labour, deskilling, and commodification. At the end of my inquiry, I will
suggest that the development of free software provides an early model of
the contradictions inherent to information capitalism, and that free
software development has a wider relevance to all future production of
information.


--------------------------- * ---------------------------
"Any man who reads a lot and uses a little his own brain
falls into lazy mental habits.” 
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"Cualquier hombre que lea demasiado y utilice poco 
su propio cerebro cae en hábitos mentales perezosos.” 
-- Albert Einstein (Thorpe, S. (2001). Como pensar como 
Einstein : How to Think like Einstein. Bogota: Norma, p. 214)


		
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