Interesting you should mention enclosure - just last night I was
bouncing some ideas off a local academic economist whilst our kids
were playing, as I've been mulling some thoughts (not developed them
beyond just mulling) along the lines of:
The likes of MicorSoft "enclose" cyberspace, i.e. deny others rights and
access to the resource, in a way that could be loosely analogous to the
land enclosures of a different historical economic era. Compared to this
is the open software type system, where legitimate economic gain is
exercised via a "truer" "market" of value added activities - i.e. everyone
has access to the common land, but inevitably some people will be more
innovative or effective at producing from it, and will therefore tend to
be in more demand, for either their products, their advice, or the skills
of their labour.
I've not really thought beyond that level with reference to the
Microsoft/monopoly vs opensoource (linux/gnu) type movements in IT, which
may or may not be the driving element of the next economic wave.
How it relates to your thoughts upon enclosure in terms of market access,
i.e. death of local physical shops?? I'm not sure. Hmm. I feel confused
now.
Malcolm
