As stated by Eleanor Roosevelt way back when, “with freedom, comes responsibility”. Applying this to an enigmatic entity such as the internet was definitely not what she had in mind when she uttered this phrase but as I read Lissig’s tome I couldn’t stop thinking about how aptly it is applied to the nether regions of cyberspace. The next question addressed is “Who’s responsibility is it?” In an arena that is “free”, and digital expression is achieved essentially at the flick of a wrist, how is this societal freedom controlled without controlling individual freedoms. Lessig quoted John Parry Barlow, of the The Grateful Dead, that cyberspace is “the new home of the mind” (3). The struggle for physical utopia extends to embrace a new search for digital utopia, on that maintains ideals of equality and freedom of expression in a mogul-free enterprise. Can we though? Can we have perfect freedom and perfect control? Are they mutually exclusive or interdependent?
Lessig tackles this question, and although he leans toward the assumption that it is possible to have both. I’m not sure myself, but as Lessig is an expert, and he puts forth the argument that since cyberspace isn’t nature, that it’s constructed; that since it’s not organic, it can be built to how we want it to be (5). As I considered this premise, I thought about how it has not been constructed with a plan-o-gram. I thought about how it has been organically grown, and without any regulation it has been like a garden, where people come into the space and plant trees, flowers, vegetables, etc. and they are left to their own devices. Eventually weeds start popping up, filling the spaces where conditions and availability apply, and as they are left unchecked, so is a sense of order and control.
Lessig claims “we should expect – and demand – that it can be made to reflect any set of values that we think important. The burden should be on the technologists to show us why that demand can’t be met” (32). This a great expectation, but as users, who don’t understand back-end technology, our expectations are limited by the capacity to understand technologies limitations. As we know, tractability exists, so it should be used. The problem is what are the limits to this power, and not only the known investment of manpower and technological capabilities, but also the unknown costs associated with this mammoth feat. Is this a private sector initiative? Is the scope too large for the private sector? “Government is the natural answer, but Lessig states “that we have lost faith in their ability, the people and the government alike” (322). With that in mind, it would seem that things, as they often do, will continue as status quo.
Lessig, Lawrence. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace: Version 2.0. Basic Books, 2006.