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Murdering someone destroys their scarce property (their body  in this case). Copying something using your own property leaves the original totally untouched.

#1341 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago · context · CriticismCriticized3 criticim(s)

One can steal value without stealing physical property (as happens when you transfer someone’s digital money without their consent).

#1344 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1341

The issue is scarcity. Digital money is also scarce since you cannot double spend it. If it wasn't scarce, it wouldn't be money and neither would it be private property.

#1346 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1344Criticized3 criticim(s)

But digital money isn’t physically scarce like someone’s body. Your argument rests on physical property being special in some way.

#1347 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1346

Do you agree that scarcity is at least a central consideration in determining whether copying information in disregard of consent should be considered a crime or not?

#1451 · · Amaro Koberle, about 1 month ago · Criticized2 criticim(s)

No I disagree, for all the reasons I already gave in response to #1346.

#1452 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 1 month ago · Criticism of #1451
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Copyright infringement usually isn’t a crime.

#1453 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 1 month ago · Criticism of #1451
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Imagine living on a flat planet that extends infinitely in all directions.

Land is not scarce on this planet.

You build a house, mixing your labor with an acre of land. Someone comes and takes your land, saying you have no cause for complaint since land isn’t scarce.

See how scarcity isn’t necessary for something to be property?

#1357 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1346
#1357 · expand

Take someone’s reputation. That isn’t a ‘scarce’ thing yet it’s a good thing there are laws against defamation.

#1359 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1346

Reputation is scarce in the sense that it’s limited.

#1360 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1359Criticized1 criticim(s)

But it isn’t scarce in a physical sense.

#1361 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1360
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I'm not sure it's a good thing.

#1362 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago

So if someone publishes a blog post falsely but believably accusing you of being a pedophile and then all your business partners stop talking to you and you lose all your money and your friends and family ghost you, you wouldn’t want to have any legal recourse?

#1363 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago

I'm not sure, seriously. I'm open to suggestions.

There's lots of things that I think people shouldn't do yet should still be legal.

#1364 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago
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I can also think of ways this could be misused.

#1366 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1363Criticized1 criticim(s)

Some people abuse the letter of the law to violate the spirit of the law, but that doesn’t mean the corresponding laws are bad per se. Those are problems, errors that can be corrected.

#1367 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1366
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Laws (against murder and other crimes) don’t reduce to physical property.

Libertarians often think that the purpose of the law is ONLY to define and enforce property rights. In reality, the purpose of the law is to prevent and address the arbitrary in social life.

It’s true that it would be arbitrary if anyone could just take your property against your will, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only kind of arbitrariness the law should prevent/address.

#1345 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1341
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Ridiculous definition of murder. Classic libertarian thought bending over backwards to reduce everything to property rights. Please cite a legal text where the definition of murder invokes scarce property.

#1350 · · Dennis Hackethal revised about 2 months ago · 2nd of 2 versions · Criticism of #1341

No. I don't expect to find it, but that doesn't make it less true. That's how I make sense of the difference between IP and real property.

#1352 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1350Criticized1 criticim(s)

If current law isn’t based on what you claim it’s based on then that does make it less true.

#1353 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1352

I don't care about current law, there are lots of dumb laws. I care about what's right and why.

#1354 · · Amaro Koberle, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1353Criticized2 criticim(s)

But the law against murder isn’t a dumb law even though it doesn’t refer to someone’s body being scarce property.

#1355 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1354
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It’s right for the law to address and prevent the arbitrary, and that’s about more than just property. See #1345.

#1356 · · Dennis Hackethal, about 2 months ago · Criticism of #1354
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