Introduction

In this paper I want to examine Moglen's argument regarding the way in which freedom emerges under the conditions of an internet society. I intend to engage with Moglen's arguments from a skeptical position and interrogate whether his definition of an "internet society" privileges the anarchic production methods quite as much as he suggests.

Specifically, I will engage the arguments of Stark and Neff in "Permanently Beta," Noam's arguments in "The Economics of User Generated Content and Peer-to-Peer: The Commons as the Enabler of Commerce" since both of these suggest to that the method of production occurs only under a narrower set of conditions than those which Moglen has elaborated.

Anarchic production

- bring in Stark and heterarchy, Benkler and peer production

Proprietary production

- private ownership of intellectual property

Differences between the two modes of production

-

Contexts in which these modes work best

- Noam

- Moglen

Tendency for the anarchic mode to work more than in the past

- the consequences of zero marginal cost networks are that it is now significantly more effective than in the past

- in some situations it is more efficacious

- the lack of profitability in the production of goods but rather in the entrepreneurship of exploiting re-combinations (the "permanently beta" argument)

Conclusion

- necessary, but not sufficient conditions have been elaborated

-- TomGlaisyer - 18 Sep 2008

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