Sarkozy Will Go "All the Way" for Monopolies

Curious stuff coming out of France:

“By defending copyright I do not just defend artistic creation, I also defend my idea of a free society where everyone’s freedom is based on respect for the rights of others. I am also defending the future of our culture. It is the future of creation.”

Er, sorry, mon brave, you seem to have forgotten that copyright is a monopoly: as such, it's antithetical to freedom. Indeed, it *takes away* the freedom from all those it is imposed upon, which is practically the entire population of the world. Artists create irrespective of copyright - they have to, because of an inner urge, not because copyright says they get a monopoly.

And as for the "future of our culture", you obviously don't understand that it is inextricably bound up with *past* culture. If it can't build on what everyone has created before, just as they did - and copyright makes this increasingly difficult - your culture won't have any future.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca.