John Locke (even though I disagree with John Locke on many
issues I agree with natural rights) was a 17th century Philosophy
that influenced many other social thinkers, political philosophers, economic
theories from all walks of the spectrum. His theory’s can be applied to a
concept that he wouldn’t be so far from, property rights in the modern era.
Property rights in the modern age seem to be dwindling, and
no I’m not talking “Me Hate Taxes, Taxes Bad GRR”, I’m talking with modern day
electronic devices and digital content where the concept of ownership seems to
becoming less than that of the Native Americans. Where and when will people
finally see that when you buy an electronic device where you can only do
certain things with it “or else” that you don’t really own a product, you are
merely leasing it? It’ll probably be where you can’t just smash the device with
a shovel for being an ineffective piece of shit without having the manufacture
suing you for improper use. EULA’s are turning purchases into leases,
destroying property rights.
Take the Sony case, for an example, where a jail breaking (modifying)
a Playstation and telling people how to do it could bring on a lawsuit. This
brought an outrage in me that if I rented a car and caused damaged to it or
modified it against their wishes, the rent-a-car company could bring a lawsuit
against me and would be completely just in doing so. But if I bought a car and
modified it the car salesman or even the car manufacture could not sue me. John
Locke claimed before and would claim today that a civil society was created for
the protection of property. Property what is one’s own. That even in the sense
of the law (as in if someone broke into my house they would be stealing my PS3,
not Sony’s PS3) I would own that Playstation but I could not modify it; even
without causing real harm to others, that I could be punished for my actions.
Yes, companies deserve say in what you do with your product
ON THEIR systems, just like the state has a say in what you can drive on public
roads, and a store has a say in what they will sell. Sony could ban any user
that jailbreaks their PS3 from the Playstation network without anyone’s
property rights truly being infringed upon. This all falls under natural rights;
John Locke could comparatively see this action to another action in his time
such as a traded horse with a contract to the new owner that as long as the new
owner does not needlessly beat the horse he could ride the horse on trader’s
property, but if the new owner needlessly beats his horse he no longer can ride
his horse on the trader’s property.
Digital content isn’t owned, it is rented with a onetime fee.
And I’m not talking about copyrights; people deserve credit and payment for
their work, I’m talking purchased digital content where your ownership be
revoked for as simple a reason as they sold it to you for a couple dollars less
than they should have. Yes, I am referring to the Kindle books that were deleted
from people’s Kindle’s by Amazon (Ironically it happened to books by George
Orwell, Animal Farm and 1984, among others) after they had already paid for the
book. This wouldn’t happen in John Locke’s time and comparatively John Locke
would see this as a giant abridgment of property rights, ones labor exchanged for
value, and that value traded for goods then become one’s property.
Imagine a scene like this occurring in John Locke’s time,
John Locke purchases a book for 10 shillings, he reads it, enjoys it and when
he is halfway through the man that sold him the book runs up to him, takes the
book right out of his hands and gives back the 10 shillings (for one of many
various reasons sold too cheaply, wasn’t an authorized version etc.) which went
completely outside of the agreement the men had (Amazon’s ToS). With the
government sitting idly, by just allowing this to occur wouldn’t truly be an
ideal society or a Civil Society.
Property in the digital age is truly becoming a dying concept;
the day will come where true ownership of electronic devices and of property on
digital devices becomes a thing of the past, where you do not own an object,
you just paid a onetime fee to be allowed to use it. That is the future we face
unless we extend current property rights protections to digital content and
electronic devices.
OOOO Nooooooo, I am currently not at exactly eight hundred words;
I now only have two more words to write right now.
Screw Flanders.
issues I agree with natural rights) was a 17th century Philosophy
that influenced many other social thinkers, political philosophers, economic
theories from all walks of the spectrum. His theory’s can be applied to a
concept that he wouldn’t be so far from, property rights in the modern era.
Property rights in the modern age seem to be dwindling, and
no I’m not talking “Me Hate Taxes, Taxes Bad GRR”, I’m talking with modern day
electronic devices and digital content where the concept of ownership seems to
becoming less than that of the Native Americans. Where and when will people
finally see that when you buy an electronic device where you can only do
certain things with it “or else” that you don’t really own a product, you are
merely leasing it? It’ll probably be where you can’t just smash the device with
a shovel for being an ineffective piece of shit without having the manufacture
suing you for improper use. EULA’s are turning purchases into leases,
destroying property rights.
Take the Sony case, for an example, where a jail breaking (modifying)
a Playstation and telling people how to do it could bring on a lawsuit. This
brought an outrage in me that if I rented a car and caused damaged to it or
modified it against their wishes, the rent-a-car company could bring a lawsuit
against me and would be completely just in doing so. But if I bought a car and
modified it the car salesman or even the car manufacture could not sue me. John
Locke claimed before and would claim today that a civil society was created for
the protection of property. Property what is one’s own. That even in the sense
of the law (as in if someone broke into my house they would be stealing my PS3,
not Sony’s PS3) I would own that Playstation but I could not modify it; even
without causing real harm to others, that I could be punished for my actions.
Yes, companies deserve say in what you do with your product
ON THEIR systems, just like the state has a say in what you can drive on public
roads, and a store has a say in what they will sell. Sony could ban any user
that jailbreaks their PS3 from the Playstation network without anyone’s
property rights truly being infringed upon. This all falls under natural rights;
John Locke could comparatively see this action to another action in his time
such as a traded horse with a contract to the new owner that as long as the new
owner does not needlessly beat the horse he could ride the horse on trader’s
property, but if the new owner needlessly beats his horse he no longer can ride
his horse on the trader’s property.
Digital content isn’t owned, it is rented with a onetime fee.
And I’m not talking about copyrights; people deserve credit and payment for
their work, I’m talking purchased digital content where your ownership be
revoked for as simple a reason as they sold it to you for a couple dollars less
than they should have. Yes, I am referring to the Kindle books that were deleted
from people’s Kindle’s by Amazon (Ironically it happened to books by George
Orwell, Animal Farm and 1984, among others) after they had already paid for the
book. This wouldn’t happen in John Locke’s time and comparatively John Locke
would see this as a giant abridgment of property rights, ones labor exchanged for
value, and that value traded for goods then become one’s property.
Imagine a scene like this occurring in John Locke’s time,
John Locke purchases a book for 10 shillings, he reads it, enjoys it and when
he is halfway through the man that sold him the book runs up to him, takes the
book right out of his hands and gives back the 10 shillings (for one of many
various reasons sold too cheaply, wasn’t an authorized version etc.) which went
completely outside of the agreement the men had (Amazon’s ToS). With the
government sitting idly, by just allowing this to occur wouldn’t truly be an
ideal society or a Civil Society.
Property in the digital age is truly becoming a dying concept;
the day will come where true ownership of electronic devices and of property on
digital devices becomes a thing of the past, where you do not own an object,
you just paid a onetime fee to be allowed to use it. That is the future we face
unless we extend current property rights protections to digital content and
electronic devices.
OOOO Nooooooo, I am currently not at exactly eight hundred words;
I now only have two more words to write right now.
Screw Flanders.
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