Nobody Don't Own Nobody
In a commodity-based society, the commodity is priced according to its perceived value. Commodities based on fossil-fuel raw materials are inherently limited and therefore priced based on supply and demand.
If the commodity, rather, is information, it is infinitely reproducible. It draws breath by slight alterations to the database. There are no originals; there are only limitless copies. No one can own information, although many try.
Clearly some information is deemed more valuable than others, but only the first time it is revealed. Are secrets valuable, like corporate designs? What about the Manhattan Project? Are patents valid any longer? Uncovering secrets is currently a massive industry, from the courts and judicial systems, to psychiatrists' offices, to the FBI and CIA, to genetic researchers. What if we declare all secrets illegal? Suppose we base an economy and political system upon free trade in data bits, with penalties for hoarding or even owning.
If ownership is obsolete, thievery becomes moot. And nobody don't own nobody. (1)
Some added value may accrue to delivery systems, the ability to transmit information faster, cheaper, and in a wider orbit, for without delivery systems information per se is useless. Oxygen cannot serve the body without blood vessels to transport it. Spotify has shown us that owning, buying, and selling any commodity is yesterday. Tomorrow breathes the oxygen delivered by open access. Get what you want when you want it without the burdens of ownership.(4)
If music
Why not art?
In fact the universe itself is constantly creating and recreating data. The universe equals information; the two are interchangeable and codependent. The issue of nature's consciousness or intent is hotly debated but the process continues whether we can define it or not.
Defining involves limits, borders, edges and stop signs. Data will not obey stop signs. Brilliant entrepreneurs won't either. Additional value might surround some combination of data, particularly if it enhances life or increases the chances for survival.
We live in a world fraught with a tug of war between better living and impending doom, power and fortunes quivering on the razor edge of species extinction. We have unleashed a demon that none of us can control. Do we know how to share, or only how to go for the jugular? (3)
In this frantic scenario, you and I count for little. You, and I, are tiny data bits which others are battling to use as pawns in an epic struggle.
It is to artists that we must turn for contemplation, for a more profound insight into our headlong rush into radically new ways of being. The skill to use data in a certain way, developed over decades of introspection and craftsmanship; the passion to face harsh truths about ourselves that we would rather not see; the willingness to resist the siren call of a gambling mentality in favor of deep reflection - these are the hallmarks of exceptional artists.
E. H. Gombrich famously wrote, "There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists." Every great age has been characterized by its great artists. Will this be one of them? (2)
c. Corinne Whitaker 1996 - 2024 and always
(1) Originally published in August of 1996 and updated December 2024.
(2) "The Story of Art", E. H. Gombrich, Phaidon.
(3) Viewers might want to read this report about 2 species of humans that found a way to live with each other some 1.5 million years ago.
(4) If you are interested in the origins and struggles of Spotify, in how ugly it can be when yesterday clings tenaciously to outmoded models, the Netflix docudrama, "Playlist", is enlightening.
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