What's this thing with L. Neil Smith about?

[MacFall]

Man, I'm gone for a few months and one of my favorite authors shows himself to be a Randian crypto-statist. What gives?

I mean I got the story, more or less, with the Shire Society Declaration thing. Unfortunately I can't listen to the show right now so I can't catch up that way with what's going on. Can someone give me an update?

P.S. I think Smith is being a douchebag, even by IP-advocate standards.

[Ecolitan]

We're all eagerly anticipating the newest episode of L. Neils whatever it is he does this weekend.

[Alex Libman]

There's nothing wrong with Randians.  I admire Ayn Rand, and I agree with her on 90% of the issues (the 10% being IP as a natural right, and her compromise on American nationalism).  Objectivists (and other Minarchists) are not in conflict with Anarcho-Capitalism, just as long as they recognize the Right to Free Exit / secession, and the AnCaps accept that a lot of people in a free society would voluntarily consent to some level of government (and the governments that have legitimate contractually-based IP laws might have a competitive advantage and thus proliferate).

[ForumTroll]

Don't mind the other thread about this.

[MacFall]

Libman: I don't have a problem with Randians in general. Complete Liberty is an objectivist-anarchist show, and I listen to it whenever I can. But it seems as though El Neil's objection to the Shire Declaration is based upon Rand's defense of IP. That's why I said that.

[MacFall]

Don't mind the other thread about this.

What, did you think there was any danger of my doing so?

[Scott Bieser]

Neil is going to explain his theory of why IP is real, and consistent with the anarchist strain of libertarianism, in a column in the up-coming Libertarian Enterprise.

I met with him yesterday afternoon and we discussed the matter for a bit. He has been doing a fair amount of research of anti-IP arguments since this came up so the result should be interesting.

[Alex Libman]

I'm really looking forward to reading it.

I myself can come up with very good arguments for IP:

(1)  Most successful jurisdictions in an Anarcho-Capitalist society (ex. charter cities, universities, business alliances, etc) would voluntarily recreate some form of IP on the basis of contract law, because it will constitute a competitive advantage for them to do so.

(2)   I also have great respect for the Objectivist perspective and the related epistemological arguments.

(3)  Mind uploading, self-owning information-based life-forms, information is life, etc, etc, etc.

None of this would apply to the situation at present, however.