Old leftists are so boring

Old leftists are so boring

Blogger : Mark Surman Thu, 24/01/2008 - 12:05

David Wiley came back with a Cape Town Declaration Spoof Both Funny and Depressing retort last night. Making the Linux / open content comparison, he writes:

If you’re having trouble imagining what Linux would look like without the involvement and support of these companies, let me help you out - just think about where open education is today.

He is right, of course. The underlying 'keep free content (or software or whatever) pure and non-commercial'  arguments behind the spoof are boohucky. We live if a hybridized-overlapping-all-the-models-and-boundaries-you-grew-up-with-are-gone kinda world. That's a good and creative thing.

Personally, I try to steer clear of arguments on this topic. They're old and they're tired. Laughing is easier and nicer.

Of course, I am happy to engage in what I see as the bigger underlying question here: how to we rebuild our political imagination now that 19th century notions of left vs. right / commercial vs. social / owner vs. worker are totally broken? We desperately need new political lenses. Digging into 'open' and imagining what these new lenses might look like is a very interesting topic indeed.


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