Lessig describes how there are 3 different kinds of economies: commercial economy, sharing economy and a mixed of both. He states that a commercial economy is an economy in which money or “price” is a central term of the ordinary, or normal, exchange (18). In short, this means that someone pays for a service or a product with money. It’s just like our everyday transactions when we buy food, pump gas, etc. Now, a sharing economy is one where money is NOT used as means of exchange. For example, you can spend time with a friend and that time together is part of the friendship relationship you both have. Once money is involved for the time you both spend together, the relationship is no longer a friendship (18).
Lessig explains that for the most part, the internet is a commercial economy (121), where users buy services on the internet; wetter is a book on Amazon, rent movies through Netflix, or bid for items on EBay. But there are also instances where sites like Wikipedia, which is more like a sharing economy because people volunteer to write articles that stay there on the site for free for anyone to copy and use. He called this “copyleft license” (157).
This concepts are important to understand because the internet it’s exactly that, a remix of both economies. The users of the web often do not realized how we are part of both of these economies. Also, Lessig’s argues that there should be more of a mid are of compromise when it comes to cultural creations (web, music, etc.)
Nice summary (and it's nice to see you back in blog world, you can still catch up if you want! you'll lose some points, but it'll be way better than not doing it)
ReplyDeleteOne thing to think about a bit more: why, in a book on remix and copyright, does he spend so much time talking about economies? does this help him persuade anyone that copyright laws need to change?