There is a scene in Lawrence of Arabia in which Lawrence is presented with the white garb of an Arab sheik following his amazing rescue of a man during a long trek through the desert. He puts it on and finds a private spot and practices walking, running, bowing, and playing the part. It is the viewer’s first signal of consummated love between this Englishman and his adopted new culture.
In the 16th century, if you could transport it, whatever it was, from of one country and into another, there was no doubt that it could be consumed. There was free movement of goods and people, the age before planning and passports. Today, we brag about our free trade, our internationalism, our global outlook, but it is ridiculous. The world is more segmented by national autarkies now than it was 500 years ago.
My particular outrage today concerns the following height of absurdity.
In Thin Liberalism and the Folly of Burning Bridges, Timothy Lee makes (at least implicitly) several interrelated claims. First, that libertarians tend to oppose net neutrality. Second, that “free software intellectuals like Richard Stallman and Eben Moglen” are anti-IP. Third, that this is compatible with libertarianism. Fourth, that Moglen and Stallman, despite some unfortunate rhetorical excesses, hold views that are not really inimical to the free market.
The schedule of this conference is precisely what one might want in an exotic and historic place such as this: the lectures run until just after noon and then the afternoons are open for touring and museums and the like. There is so much to see, and wherever you are, you are struck by a sense of awe of the deep roots of the liberal tradition.
