I wasn’t about to write a blog post tonight, so I’m going to keep this short.  But in my little Flock homepage, I saw this little headline story about the Pirate Party getting a seat in European parliament. 

I really, honestly, am pretty disgusted by this.

First off, while I usually have some sympathy for embattled little technology people who get embroiled in legal battles, as they’re generally good people.  However, after reading this page on their site, I lost any sympathy I ever had for them.  My opinion is these Pirate Bay principals have zero cognitive idea of the concept of exchange — meaning someone skilled creates something, and provides it in exchange for something valuable back.  For example, if many, many talented programmers work for a long time on a video game, and they finally finish it, and it’s great, then they then sell it and if you like it you buy it from them.  That way they get money, and can afford to keep making neat video games. 

They just seem to be interested in being “pirates” in the truest sense of the word — where you take things that rightfully belong to others, with no exchange, and without their permission.

Now, we have a political party that has, as it’s goal, abolishing the copyright system, abolishing the trademark system, and convincing people that, and I quote from Rick Falkvinge, the leader and founder of the party, “…that the government is not always good.”

OK, I’m not a politician or a copyright lawyer, but I am someone who has benefitted from the inventions and industriousness of others who invent and thereby commercialize things they have created, based on their own ingenuity and resourcefullness.

Would someone please enlighten me as to what possible good would come about through abolishing copyrights and patents?  The only thing I can see is negative effects, quashing people who normally would try to come up with great stuff and sell it — driving them into apathy. 

As a Scientologist, I definitely understand the role of trademarks and copyright law, as without such someone could publish books on my religion where people did voodoo dances, and then say it’s “Scientology”.    So, the continued existance of my religion depends on such laws being in place.  All other religions and organizations also depend on the same — it’s a basic agreement that helps hold the world together. 

So, I reiterate:  what possible good could a political party aiming to obliterate copyright law ever come to?

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