Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture

A significant parallel can be drawn between a socialist argument about how to regulate property in the means of production and the liberal theorist Lawrence Lessig’s argument about how to regulate property in ideas. The two are particularly alike in the emphasis they place on the kind of participati...

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Main Author: Forrest Perry
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Paderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research Group 2015-11-01
Series:tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/633
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author Forrest Perry
author_facet Forrest Perry
author_sort Forrest Perry
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description A significant parallel can be drawn between a socialist argument about how to regulate property in the means of production and the liberal theorist Lawrence Lessig’s argument about how to regulate property in ideas. The two are particularly alike in the emphasis they place on the kind of participation—and the resulting freedom and democracy—enabled by having access to the means of production. Highlighting the parallel could help socialists and liberal theorists of intellectual property to see how they can advance each other’s causes: socialism could eliminate the threat of privatization of the means of producing culture that liberals like Lessig rightly worry about; and if the arguments about ownership of ideas made by Lessig and others like him end up gaining currency, then arguments about ownership of the means of production made by socialist theorists could have more resonance with larger numbers of people than is currently the case.
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spelling doaj-art-a8306191850a4da89bc2335af954f7cf2025-08-20T03:40:23ZengPaderborn University: Media Systems and Media Organisation Research GrouptripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique1726-670X2015-11-0114110.31269/triplec.v14i1.633633Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and CultureForrest PerryA significant parallel can be drawn between a socialist argument about how to regulate property in the means of production and the liberal theorist Lawrence Lessig’s argument about how to regulate property in ideas. The two are particularly alike in the emphasis they place on the kind of participation—and the resulting freedom and democracy—enabled by having access to the means of production. Highlighting the parallel could help socialists and liberal theorists of intellectual property to see how they can advance each other’s causes: socialism could eliminate the threat of privatization of the means of producing culture that liberals like Lessig rightly worry about; and if the arguments about ownership of ideas made by Lessig and others like him end up gaining currency, then arguments about ownership of the means of production made by socialist theorists could have more resonance with larger numbers of people than is currently the case.https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/633socialismcapitalisminternetcopyrightmeans of production
spellingShingle Forrest Perry
Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique
socialism
capitalism
internet
copyright
means of production
title Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
title_full Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
title_fullStr Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
title_full_unstemmed Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
title_short Skip the (Capitalist) Intermediaries: Freedom, Democracy, and Participation in the Economy and Culture
title_sort skip the capitalist intermediaries freedom democracy and participation in the economy and culture
topic socialism
capitalism
internet
copyright
means of production
url https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/633
work_keys_str_mv AT forrestperry skipthecapitalistintermediariesfreedomdemocracyandparticipationintheeconomyandculture