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IP: more on Damn the Constitution: Europe must take back the Web
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 10:53:45 -0400
------ Forwarded Message From: Vaughan Pratt <pratt () CS Stanford EDU> Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 07:21:57 -0700 To: farber () cis upenn edu Subject: Re: IP: Damn the Constitution: Europe must take back the Web Dear Dave, Thompson's argument for not treating cyberspace as a unified construct is essentially normative: the notion of cyberspace is problematic and it should therefore be deconstructed. Unfortunately a normative argument is not a real argument, it merely paints a seductive picture of how nice the world would be were the proposed norm respected. Where is the positive argument needed to make his case stick? The positive argument is simply that cyberspace has no Constitution. If it did, it could say "The powers not delegated to the Internet by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the Countries, are reserved to the Countries respectively, or to the people." It doesn't, and it can't. End of argument. What Thompson wants Thompson has already got. Why then the rave, except for its own sake? (A thoughtfully literate rave is always a pleasure.) It would seem that Thompson is a states rightist worrying that one day there really will be an Internet Constitution patronizingly reserving to the Countries those powers it has not arrogated to itself. While constitutions are not routinely written overnight, exceptions may occur when the head honcho is a nonresident with porphyria. US-based ICANN is rapidly becoming the Internet's England-based George III. So some of the circumstances needed for at least a revolution if not a constitution seem to be falling into place. Now Thompson may not be a renegade merchant or a rebellious slave owner, but he does seem to be a justifiably disaffected Cantabridgian debater seeking relief from the tyranny of ICANN and cyberspatial independence for Europe. In the comparable situation two centuries ago the States of America decided to hang together, with dramatically successful outcome. Franklin's compellingly normative argument for this was that it sure beat the alternative of hanging separately, but would things have gone as well for Middle North America had the states gone their separate ways? This seems to be what Thompson wants for cyberspace. He may well get what he wants. But his grandchildren growing up in cyberspace may see more clearly than gramps the advantages in Union and Constitution. They may well get what they want too. We live in interesting times. Vaughan Pratt ------ End of Forwarded Message For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- IP: more on Damn the Constitution: Europe must take back the Web Dave Farber (Aug 11)