[As Columbia Law Professor Eben Moglen notes, in the 21st century, every form of cultural expression – literature, visual art, music, film, software – can be infinitely digitally reproduced by anyone in possession of a cheap, handheld computer, at an effective marginal cost of zero. For the first time, it is possible to imagine a non-tragic cultural commons: everyone freely giving and taking from the sum of human knowledge without the risk of ecological degradation, or the interference of unnecessary intermediaries like printers, salesmen, and distributors. Free culture advocates like Moglen often argue that the exponential social benefits of free knowledge and culture impart a moral obligation on individual creators to eschew proprietary culture and join the creative commons. We agree, but remain unconvinced that appeals to individual sentiment will be sufficient, on their own, to convince the public that commons-based production is a feasible alternative to proprietary culture. For amateurs and dilettantes who do not rely on their art for a living, moving to the commons has plenty of upside and little downside. For creative professionals, however, particularly those burdened by economic hardship, the risks associated with transitioning to a non-proprietary business model can feel (rightly or wrongly) prohibitive. Often times, the typical free culture advocate’s response to this concern is to either dismiss it, to reemphasize the moral case for freedom, or to point to others’ success stories as proof that “it can be done.” We believe these responses are insufficient and miss the deeper point: no matter how feasible commons-based production may appear to those who are familiar with it, for those suffering from the paralyzing effects of systemic money scarcity – unemployment, poverty, overwhelming consumer debt – the free culture response is incomplete at best, and callous at worst.]
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:30:31 +0000