David Friedman who has been mentioned here recently is giving a talk in Oakland. The announcement from the Independent Institute is below. Fred ------ Because the revolution in information technology presents new threats and opportunities for liberty, I am very pleased to announce our next Independent Policy Forum reception and seminar: "Will Encryption Protect Privacy and Make Government Obsolete?," featuring economist and legal scholar David Friedman. Professor Friedman (Santa Clara University School of Law) is highly respected among both economists and the legal community. Like his father, Nobel Prize economist Milton Friedman, David Friedman is also highly influential within opinion-making and policy-making circles. His critically acclaimed books -- LAW'S ORDER: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters; HIDDEN ORDER: The Economics of Everyday Life; and the classic, THE MACHINERY OF FREEDOM: Guide to a Radical Capitalism -- have earned him a reputation as an innovative thinker who can effectively communicate important ideas to a broad audience. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure to read or hear Prof. Friedman, you will be impressed by his wit, enthusiasm and erudition. For those of you who have, you will gain new insights as Prof. Friedman applies his precision-thinking to such issues as encryption, privacy, government regulation, and the prospects for private law. The program will be held Tuesday evening, April 24th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Independent Institute's conference center in Oakland, California. For your review, I am adding below an invitation with further details on the program. Because seating is limited, please make your reservations as soon as possible. For further information, please contact me or the Institute's Events Coordinator, Ms. Nichelle Beardsley, at 510-632-1366 X118. We hope to see you on April 24th. Sincerely, David J. Theroux Founder and President The Independent Institute 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA 95621-1428 510-632-1366 Phone 510-568-6040 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.independent.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WILL ENCRYPTION PROTECT PRIVACY AND MAKE GOVERNMENT Obsolete? -- Next Independent Policy Forum (4/24/01) http://www.independent.org/tii/forums/010424ipf.html Many people have wondered how technological progress will affect political and civil freedoms. With the rise of encryption software and the FBI's Carnivore e-mail snooping program, this subject is no longer the exclusive domain of speculative thinkers or futurists, it is the subject of intense public-policy debate. Will privacy-enhancing technology improve faster than privacy-threatening technology? Should the government mandate privacy standards? Should it enforce contracts in cyberspace, or would private law do a better job? Economist and legal scholar DAVID FRIEDMAN will discuss these and related questions about technological change and the case for and against government involvement. SPEAKER: DAVID D. FRIEDMAN, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University; Author, LAW'S ORDER: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters; HIDDEN ORDER: The Economics of Everyday Life; THE MACHINERY OF FREEDOM: Guide to a Radical Capitalism WHEN: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 Reception and book signing: 6:30 p.m. Program: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. WHERE: The Independent Institute Conference Center 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA 94621-1428 For a map and directions, see http://www.independent.org/tii/tii_info/about.html#map TICKETS: $30.00 per person: includes one copy of David Friedman's book, LAW'S ORDER, OR, admission without a book is $10 per person ($7 for Independent Institute Associate Members) Praise for LAW'S ORDER: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters (Princeton University Press, 2000): "Simply put, [LAW'S ORDER] is fabulously written, and readers will very much appreciate the lucid style, the humor, and the hold-nothing-sacred (except, perhaps, the market!) approach." -- STEVEN G. MEDEMA, coauthor, Economics and the Law: From Posner to Postmodernism "The author is a talented and provocative writer, with a great imagination and the ability to make readers swallow the often counterintuitive conclusions of economics as common sense. The book is an entertaining tour through the mind of someone who has fully absorbed the 'economic way of thinking' as he attempts to explain and grapple with questions of social organization." -- PETER BOETTKE, George Mason University "[LAW'S ORDER] is wide-ranging in scope, at once simple and highly sophisticated consistently provocative, an excellent read, and a notable contribution to an exciting field of interdisciplinary studies." -- RICHARD A. POSNER, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit "Whether one speaks of the complexities of marginal deterrence, the resolution of disputes between farmers and railroads, or the social functions of copyright and patent law, Friedman's book provides the outsider to the field with a comprehensive but accessible account of his legal subject matter." -- RICHARD A. EPSTEIN, University of Chicago School of Law See David Friedman's related essays: "A World of Strong Privacy: Promises and Perils of Encryption" http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Academic/Strong_Privacy/Strong_Privacy.html "Contracts in Cyberspace" http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Academic/contracts_in_%20cyberspace/contracts_in_cyberspace.htm "Anarchy and Efficient Law" http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Academic/Anarchy_and_Eff_Law/Anarchy_and_Eff_Law.html. For more about this event, see http://www.independent.org/tii/forums/010424ipf.html
