Hello, all. This is my first blog post for Spirit of Contradiction, so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself somewhat–without losing too much of my privacy. I used to have another blog a while ago, but I decided it no longer represented me that well, so I’m starting from scratch.
My name is David. I am a student at Law at a Spanish university. Before that, I read a Computer Science degree at a British university which I did not complete. From this it is already clear I’m interested in law, technology, and their intersection. Politically, I would describe myself as a Communist, more specifically a Marxist, although I am not willing to further affiliate with this or that authorized interpreter for the time being. I understand this places me well outside the political mainstream in Europe–and most places, really.
Aside from long-term political preocupations, I try to involve myself in the Free Software movement, in my case as a member of the Fellowship of FSFE. Free Software embodies what I believe is a new mode of production, at least in some cases, grounded in principles of equal access, technical excellence and cooperation. Some Marxists might see this as petty bourgeois–since the means of production are privately owned–but they’d be ignoring the fact that the creative labour itself is thoroughly socialized. At any rate, I consider “Intellectual Property” as yet one more form of privatization, a new enclosure, which the bourgeoisie and Capital uses to further leverage its investments and dispossess intellectual workers of the fruits of their labour–and also everyone else who could and should benefit from such labour, which is infinitely reproducible. Because of the unavoidable reality that “IP” creates monopolies, it is also to be expected that capitalists will be able to extract superprofits. As a matter of fact, even bourgeois economists agree that the value of proprietary software is roughly equal to its lock-in.
Beyond that, my studies and general news bring me in contact with new information all the time. So I’ll write about the things which I find of interest. In these times, it is essential to defend the conquests of the XIX century bourgeois revolutions. Since the terrorist attacks of 2001–4, there is an unfortunate tendency to backslide in some of the rights and guarantees that the liberal constitutions enshrined in law. While keeping criticism of the liberal order alive, we should endeavour to defend those achievements–and I certainly will try my best.
Otherwise, I hope you enjoy my writing, and that you make any comments that come to your mind. Dialectics also function from person to person, and help arrive to a better synthesis for everyone concerned. Keep hope alive: a better world is possible!
Tags: english
