Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Maltby
So not a fan of free market capitalism, I take it. The authors, inventors,
creators of any kind are all to be doing this just for the fun of it, oh by the
way there is a reason they call it fiction.
Luck;
Ken
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It's interesting that many people nowadays think that copyrights/patents are elements inherent to a free-market system. In truth it is the opposite - copyrights and patents are nothing more than temporary monopolies provided for by the government. They exist because pure free market capitalism has many faults that can only be fixed through government intervention.
Perhaps people confuse the two because in the past 30 years or so, neo-liberal movements within many governments (think Reagan/Thatcher) and international organizations (the UN/WTO/IMF) have embraced and encouraged increased copyright and patent terms and protections. But let's be honest, neo-liberalism is not and never has been about completely free markets, only free markets when they benefit the neo-liberals!