But generally speaking, I felt to engage in the political process was to sully oneself to such a degree that whatever came out wasn't worth the trouble put in. John Perry Barlow degreeengagefelt Change image and share on social
The one thing that I know government is good for is countervailing against monopoly. It's not great at that either, but it's the only force I know that is fairly reliable. John Perry Barlow countervailfairlyforce Change image and share on social
The 'Total Information Awareness' project is truly diabolical - mostly because of the legal changes which have made it possible in the first place. As a consequence of the Patriot Act, government now has access to all sorts of private and commercial databases that were previously off limits. John Perry Barlow accessactawareness share on social
Everyone seems to be playing well within the boundaries of his usual rule set. I have yet to hear anyone say something that seemed likely to mitigate the idiocy of this age. John Perry Barlow ageboundaryhear Change image and share on social
Any powerful technology has sauce for the goose and the gander... It's just an extension of humanity. John Perry Barlow extensiongandergoose Change image and share on social
Most libertarians are worried about government but not worried about business. I think we need to be worrying about business in exactly the same way we are worrying about government. John Perry Barlow businessgovernmentlibertarian Change image and share on social
The Internet may well disempower the nation state, but at the same time, it also strengthens certain specific state functions - like surveillance. As a political entity, it doesn't empower the nation sate. It creates the availability of much more data than the digestive system of the nation state could possibly assimilate. John Perry Barlow assimilateavailabilitycreate share on social
I think that humor is part of what saves us from despair. John Perry Barlow despairhumorpart Change image and share on social
It's widely assumed that you can't compete with free, and that seems like a reasonable thing to think. But this has not been my experience. John Perry Barlow assumecompeteexperience Change image and share on social
You do not know our culture, our ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order than could be obtained by any of your impositions. John Perry Barlow codecultureethic Change image and share on social