Interview With Leader of Sweden's Pirate Party 476
CrystalFalcon writes "Linux-P2P has published an interview with Rick Falkvinge, leader of the Swedish Pirate Party which is aiming to gain entry to Swedish Parliament this fall. (The party's founding was previously covered on Slashdot.) The party is totally for real, totally serious, and has seen approval ratings of 57% in some polls, with only four percent needed to gain seats. Its goals are to cut back copyrights, abolish patents, and strengthen the right to privacy."
So... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:So... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So... (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:So... (Score:4, Funny)
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
here? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:here? (Score:2, Insightful)
Not viable at all I'm afraid - its got more to do with the character of the voters then anything else & the swedish are better educated & more aware of issues then the lazy, apathetic US citizens.
Re:here? (Score:5, Informative)
In Sweden, you only need four percent of the votes TOTAL to gain seats in parliament, in stark contrast to the UK or US systems where you need to gain majority in a certain area. There just aren't many enough technically savvy to gain absolute majority in a geographical region.
Four percent across the country may not sound like much, but if the left- and right-wing blocks get 48% each, like they typically do, then the Pirate Party will hold the balance of power. And that is a very good bargaining chip.
(In the last election, the Green Party achieved this position, counting in at 4.2% in the election, and they got basically everything they wanted.)
The party's home page is at http://www.piratpartiet.se/ [piratpartiet.se] -- the main site is in Swedish, but there's an English translation as well. And as a shameless plug, the party is currently doing a fundraiser to buy the necessary ballots.
Disclosure: I am involved with the party and am a paying member.
Re:here? (Score:2)
Re:here? (Score:2)
Which is exactly why I like the US system so much, even though it is fashionable to pan it: Parlimentary systems increase the power of fringe minority groups. Under the US system, the moderates are more powerful, as they are swing voters and will be pandered too. This of course is 'not cool' to young radical types, but having a stable moderate government is
Re:here? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's mostly desirable to people who don't want change. All the others get the choice between two sides of basically the same party. If you disagree, where anywhere else in the world you would have the theorical (or possibly as shown here practical) option of creating a new party to promote your ideas, in the US it's just n
Another problem with the US system (Score:3, Interesting)
You can't vote "NO!" to a candidate. You can only vote "Yes!".
So even if 55% dislike candidate A, but only 25% are fine with candidate A, if the 55% can't agree on who to vote "Yes!" to (or they stay at home in disgust) instead, candidate A has a good chance of winning.
Now I claim more people would vote if they could vote "No!".
It'll be worth it even if the candidate still wins - but with a net negative total
myths of two party politics and stability (Score:3, Insightful)
That would be the case only if the political districts were created to be "reasonably" politically neutral.
However, of the 435 congressional districts, only about 50 may be called politically neutral. The rest are gerrymandered by whomever to fit either one party or another. In those districts, the only way to win is to fight in the primary, which usually requires pandering to the radical elements of that
Re:here? (Score:3, Insightful)
Basically, what your saying is: "I wish there were a system where someone who is really smart could decide who the sensible people are, and just let them make decisions"
Bullshit. The system in the US is set up in a way that makes change next to impossible. Because if you don't vote either Democratic or Republican you "waste your vote" (can you imagine the disbelief in the rest of the world when actual US politicians say that and apparently are serious, see the entire "Ralph don't run" campaign? We wouldn
Re:here? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wrong. It has to do with the rules of the game, and how they were set up. It is like in game theory: the rules of the game lead to an optimal way of playing. In our system, the natural outcome is for two large parties. It is this system that moderates people however... since voting for a more radical party on either side actually gives an advantage to the moderate party that you oppose
Re:here? (Score:3, Funny)
1) I did reply to your statement that the US system is not democracy. My point was that change is difficult, does not allow for 3rd parties, but has the benefit of moderating the two parties in charge, and therefore the laws that are passed.
2) I did not do ad hominem. I simply summarized your argument in an unflattering manner in order to attack it. ad hominem is when you attack the person, but perhaps your too stupid to understand that.
3) The biggest problem with everyone who's responde
Apparently I must spell it out: (Score:3, Insightful)
And it remains that way precisely because neither of the two big parties would have anything to gain from real change
I pointed out that it "remains this way" not simply because both parties "have no incentive to change", but because the underlying rules of the voting system favor two parties. This is when a strong third party does emerge, they replace the weaker of the two current parties. This is exactly what happened when the Republ
Re:here? (Score:3, Informative)
Please, just because I understand, and can compare the pros and cons of various government types, you are ashamed? His statement was that the US system is kept 2 parties by the two parties in charge. I refuted, with evidence. Please see my other post [slashdot.org] for more information.
it seems that Americans like him are more and more in power.
Where in any of my posts are any political leanings shown?
Re:here? (Score:5, Funny)
(In the last election, the Green Party achieved this position, counting in at 4.2% in the election, and they got basically everything they wanted.)
So 4% of the vote gets you 100% of the power... sounds like a great democratic system.
Re:here? (Score:3, Informative)
Surely that's up to the Swedes.
Re:here? (Score:3, Informative)
Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna) 39,85%
Moderates (Moderaterna) 15,26%
Liberal People's Party (Folkpartiet Liberalerna) 13,39%
Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna) 9,15%
Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) 8,39%
Centre Party (Centerpartiet) 6,19%
and some smaller parties as well, mainly the Sweden D
Re:here? (Score:3, Informative)
They may not have gotten everything, but they did get an incredible lot, and in particular in areas where they are in the minority opinion.
They did get the congestion fees in Stockholm. It's their energy politics that are being implemented. The four biggest parties in Sweden are more or less pro nuclear power, the three smallest against it, and they run the show there.
If they were a middle of the road party, it would be OK for them to have the amount of influence they have, but
Re:here? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:here? (Score:5, Funny)
Why don't they just copy them?
Re:here? (Score:5, Insightful)
Omnibus bills that ram through dozens of other bills with one main bill. If you like the main one, everyone assumes you will vote for that. Even if the other stuff is borderline criminal.
Omnibus bills suit most politicians of course, allowing them to ram through more legislation with as little thought as possible so that they can get back out on the golf course.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:here? (Score:3, Insightful)
see "on the viability of any 3rd party in a consumer society with privately-funded campaigns" i.e. "none".
compare also with the recent party-funding scandal in the UK.
Re:here? (Score:2)
AAArrrrrrr I mean the Corpocracy Party...
Aaarrrrrr I mean the Republicans & Democrats.
Re:here? (Score:2)
Because having your actions motivated only by your hatred of others always has such a great outcome...
Only but a dream in the US (Score:2)
I wonder where I can get a rubber band to wear that is in support of copyright and patent reform?
Re:Only but a dream in the US (Score:5, Insightful)
People would have to constantly create something new and interesting, instead trying to milk the 30 year old cow.
It would cut some profit, but if the innovation took off, the technological advancements would be worth it.
Too bad, no-one seems to understand this.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I'm sure they're going to be really effective (Score:2, Funny)
I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:5, Interesting)
Sweden is a strong country as far as free information goes; very little is restricted. For example, the popular torrent website The Pirate Bay [thepiratebay.org], a warehouse of torrents for popular files is hosted in Sweden and hasn't had much problems with the Swedish authorities. Interestingly, its corresponding crime rate [indymedia.org] is one of the lowest in the world--60 people imprisoned per 100,000, as compared to the United States' 690.
Call me unpatriotic, call me crazy, but I think this "Pirate Party" might very well just be a good idea. It will give people a different perspective on things: It is possible to not restrict information, and still manage a flourishing--if not something greater--economy and society.
I, for one, welcome our new pirate overlords.
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:2, Insightful)
>commercialize the internet.
TBL had nothing to do with the Internet - he came up with the WWW, not the same thing *at all*.
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:3, Informative)
The internet has become (in my opinion, at least) one of the greatest inventions of mankind. EVER. Because of Tim Berners-Lee's refusal to privatize or commercialize the internet.
Just to clarify, Tim Berners-Lee invented the web, not the Internet, which it runs on. Thankfully, the Internet is also open to anyone who wants to have access to it and contribute to it, be it in the form of e-mail, IRC, or that old medium of free speech, USENET. And you're right: that's the way it should be, and it has gone a
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:3, Insightful)
The author of the parent comment appears to think the connection between these two statements is obvious. Even if I grant the premise in the first statement (and is it accurate to claim that "the Information Age" is the correct characterization for our current society--enough to derive norms from it?), I do not see that the second conclusion immediately follows from it.
Furthermore
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:5, Insightful)
One thing I do know about Sweden is they treat they take rehabilitation of criminals very seriously. In the US we throw people in a hole for a few years and try to forget about them. I saw something (can't remember which station) on TV about different justice systems around the world, and Sweden treats their criminals better than many Americans live. Even I thought it was a bit overboard, but if it works it works. The one really funny thing was that the inmates still complained about prison, even though it looked more like a day care than a prison. One guy complained about having his urine tested for drugs every day. I'd guess any US prisoner would jump at the chance to trade with that guy.
I don't think it's quite fair to compare Sweden to the US though. They're very different cultures, so picking out one factor and saying that's responsible for the lower crime rate isn't necessarily valid.
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:2)
Re:I don't like the term "pirate". (Score:2, Informative)
>I'm fairly certain that the same drugs that aren't legal here are illegal in Sweden.
This is completely true. Also, when it comes to drugs, Sweden is faaar away from the liberal paradise people sometimes make it out to be. Within the EU, Sweden is zealously promoting its own (failed) policies of prohibition and "zero tolerance." I say failed because, for example, Sweden has twice the number of heroin addicts per capita compared to the Netherlands (where you will recall cannabis is quasi
Re:Apparently, you don't know much about sweden. (Score:2)
She was a lousy minister of foreign affairs, so we're a lot better off without her.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of Absolut (Score:2)
AWESOME!
Re:Yo ho ho and a bottle of Absolut (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Yo ho ho and a bottle of Absolut (Score:2)
Or for a more traditionally Swedish drink, Akvavit (flavoured potato alcohol) would do me just fine.
The Pirate Bay (Score:2, Interesting)
Wonder no longer (Score:2)
Re:The Pirate Bay (Score:2)
You *can* read into that that they disapprove of the Pirate Bay. On the other hand, Rickard also mentions that non-commercial sharing should never be prohibited by copyright, and that criminalising (more than) 20% of your voters is a bad idea - not just for
Re:The Pirate Bay (Score:2)
I have never understood that argument. More people in Sweden are speeding while drivning their cars than are pirating stuff while using their computers. Would that be a good reason to abolish speed limits?
Abolishing patents (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
You, sir, seriously need a fresh perspective.
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
Only for the most easy-to-copy substances, and those really shouldn't have been patentable in the first place, even under the current system. Add to that all the years and money spent for FDA approval (yes, the copycat drugs do need those too) and you have a natural monopoly of several years with none of the harmful side-effects of the patent system, like what happens if two companies develop the same drug at the same time.
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
However, the testing that they do isn't patentable.
And with up to 15 years of lead before the copies can arrive, what do you need the patent protection for, anyway?
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:5, Interesting)
No we don't, for the simple reason that it isn't true. Do the math yourself. Or, read up on some people who have:
Dean Baker [paecon.net]
George Monbiot [guardian.co.uk]
In fact, our very own Ericsson was founded by copying a Siemens telephone design. History shows, repeatedly, that countries and/or markets with little or no IP protection flourish for the simple reason that time-to-market and true innovation are much stronger incentives for the making of new creations than the stale state-imposed monopolies of patent and copyright.
No country, Schiff notes, has ever contributed "as many basic inventions in this field as did Switzerland during her patentless period".
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
Please citations on this one. The industrial revolution occurred immediately after the institution of a patent system in the UK. Much of what became the British Empire was based on the industrial supremacy of the UK. All through history it has been the strongest economies that have had sound patent systems, and the economically depressed third world nations that have had not patent systems.
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:5, Informative)
See "China, present day".
The industrial revolution occurred immediately after the institution of a patent system in the UK.
Looking at the Wikipedia article about the Industrial Revolution, one can not but notice this part about the causes of it:
Doesn't sound like patents would have helped there, would it? After all, the whole point of patents is to prevent the transmission of information. In fact, it has been said that the revolution didn't take place until after James Watt's patent ran out: Even more interesting is the fact that during the time that his patent was valid, Watt himself had little time to spare for making new inventions, he was too busy fending off "infringers" and trying to get a license to use the Pickard crack/flywheel, also patented. This mirrors the experiences of modern-day Swedish inventor Håkan Lans, who haven't been able to work since 1995 because he's been tied up in patent litigation. This effect alone should warrant an immediate abolishment for all patents as they create a terrible tax on humanity's resources.All through history it has been the strongest economies that have had sound patent systems
Ah, but what is cause and what is effect? And what is a "sound patent system"? Does it really exist? You didn't read the links in the post you quoted, did you? Strong economies are created by strong market forces, the very same market forces who then seek to consolidate their own power by... waitforit... ..."protecting their IP".
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:3, Insightful)
You might be able to make a case for patents given enough data, but copyrights? Who cares if you are the first to market with "Passion of t
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
Re:Abolishing patents (Score:2)
This seems valid (Score:2)
-"What is right isn't always popular, and what is popular isn't always right."
Re:This seems valid (Score:3, Insightful)
Partly reasonable, partly not (Score:2)
But they also say that in their proposal, only the "exact copy" is protected - you can sample a clip and then sell it as a new work! Now, there might be a grey area, but that seems a bit on the nose. Just pass it through a Digital to analog converter, and back to digital, and you've somehow created something?
Abolish patents? (Score:5, Insightful)
Obviously patenting has run amok and needs to be fixed, but I don't see where anyone would benefit from the elimination of patents. "Hey guys, I've got an idea...let's remove the ability to make money off massive R&D investments by making it so that people who didn't do any of the work can produce and sell a product as soon as it comes to market!"
Copyrights run way too long, but are a good thing; people work hard to produce works and should be given some legal protection so that--if they choose--they can profit from those works. It encourages the creation of new works by allowing people to make a career of it.
I really think that people who think intellectual property is a bad thing think that simply because they are out of touch. Or maybe they've just never had ideas/works that were original enough to be protected under IP laws and so they don't know what it means to have an idea stolen. Taking away the protections the law currently gives would discourage new ideas because they would no longer be profitable.
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2, Informative)
They want only to limit the patents to maximal 5 years.
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2)
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2)
Can you think of any patentable (or patented) product where a competitor would really be able to analyse, copy, produce and market it "as soon as it comes to market" ?
Taking away the protections the law currently gives would discourage new ideas because they would no longer be profitable
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2)
Yes. Pretty much anything that is not electronic.
You are aware that patents extend far beyond software and electronic devices, right? There are a LOT of mechanical devices that are patentable, and mechanical devices can be disassembled and their designs copied in a matter of days.
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2)
Really ? Lets take something like a new drug (being one of those things people are always insisting would be impossible without patents). Are you seriously suggesting some company is going to take a new drug, analyse it, copy it, test it and get it approved by $NATIONAL_DRUG_AUTHORITY in, say, (let's be generous with our definition of "as soon as it comes to market") a month ? 6 months ? A year ? Two years ?
You are aware that patents extend far beyond
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:3, Insightful)
No, he should under no circumstance ever be allowed to patent it. Patenting it would virtually guarantee that the patent would be bought by (insert major oil pumping megacorp) and stuffed on a shelf until it's forgotten, 20 years later. And, adding inslut to injury, the patent lawyers would make damn sure that the patent isn't actually revealing enough to create said engine, but detailed enough to stop an
Some quotes from TFA (Score:2)
Argumentum ad numerum.
DRM is effectively media companies writing their own copyright laws, harming society and consumers. We have a parliament to write such laws, thank you very much.
DRM is more of a license agreement. Like any given license agreement, it spells out what you can and cannot do with wha
Re:Some quotes from TFA (Score:3, Insightful)
Companies are patenting genes and genetic modification to food, and we've already seen cases of accidental contamination, and the court upheld the company's right to the genetic code in the food. What happens if a company holds the right to the genetic code of every orange on the planet? Stop buying oranges? And what about apples? And bananas?
What happens when someone patents the cure for a pandemia? We all die?
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:3, Insightful)
I've since hit several others. I've also had several ideas that could have been patented, and where others have picked up on it.
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:3, Insightful)
The real answer to resolving patent/copyright issues is radically reducing the length of protection. As technology makes it easier and easier to commercialize your idea/IP, and as society fundamentally becomes more wealthy, it should take less time to bring products to market, reap monopoly profits, and then maintain a strong position in the market by issue of being allowed in first.
If you can't turn your idea into s
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:3, Insightful)
OK, but think that one through. Don't stop there. Let's say you're right. What would happen when the public and movie theaters runs out of movies to watch/show like the alarmists say they will (just like the record industry died when home taping killed it)? They'd want to pay for new movies to be made. If they don't, there was no need for any of it to start
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:2)
I used to assume that hardware patents were good, but then I realized that they're just as messed up as software patents. The purpose of the patent system is to prevent trade secrets from being lost forever, but is that really a big deal any more? Even if it is, is it worth the cost to society?
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to agree with you. I used to believe that patents were necessary for innovations to see the mass market, necessary for companies to see the return on investment necessary to put forth the effort. These days, however, I'm less certain -- and I hold 6 patents and am about to file for #7.
In theory, companies put forth a pile of R&D and in return receive some exclusivity over the idea. In practice, a whole lot of companies race towards the same goals, and filing the patent is the finish line. At that point, sometimes exclusivity creates prices so high that the population can't benefit only the elite. Beyond that, there are companies which exist solely to patent ideas and license out the implementation (even when the implementation is the expensive part).
If Sweden abolished patents, they'd probably see some innovation suffer-- but they'd see a whole bunch of industries moving in to take advantage. For example, generic drug makers would love to do business there. Reading patent applications from the rest of the world and then using that as a list of things to explore, they'd do great business from Europeans who travel over the border to get their Rx at lower prices (how much lower would be a question for competition).
There are many companies today which believe that patent portfolios are actually a liability -- they're an advertisement for less scrupulous companies in other countries (see above paragraph), and they're limited to 17 years of protection. A tight company with good control over trade secrets can see the advantage for decades.
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:5, Insightful)
So no one would have any new ideas without copyright/patent law? I disagree in the strongest possible terms. Creative people won't go away without the ability to milk one creative endeavor for over three generations.
Example: the Creative Commons, blogs, flickr.
Exploring further, let's look at bands and the music industry. It used to be that bands made their money touring, and any exposure to their music was advertising for one of their performances. With record signed labels the bands don't actually make money, they pay back the money that the record labels spent on them. All of their music is actually the label's music, and the label doesn't play gigs. The label makes its money by selling copies of the recorded music and any exposure to the music had better have been paid for directly (purchased media) or indirectly (radio) by the consumer. In modern terms the artists are the whores and the labels are their pimps.
The only case I can think of where copyrights/patents are helpful is with major R&D investments (drugs). I submit that the pursuit of profitable drugs has created a culture of pill popping where prescription drugs are advertised on television. Seriously useful drugs that would cure the patient aren't desirable because it is far more profitable to create drugs that moderate symptoms and must be repetively taken. I propose that the expenditure of funds to create medical drugs should be put forth by world governments in a similar manner to space exploration funding. By this I don't mean to discourage garage labs (ex: the current private space ventures), nor that the labs should be run by the government and drugs be given away for free, but that the bulk of the R&D funding should be footed by the government as a social good (ex: roads, schools, or universities).
Re:Abolish patents? (Score:3, Informative)
Real pirates will sue (Score:3, Funny)
Arghh (Score:2)
For those who don't read Swedish... (Score:4, Informative)
Ninja Party (Score:2, Funny)
Aarrrr! Børk! Børk! Børk! (Score:2)
EU, Data Retention, etc. (Score:2)
For example, the EU just made data retention laws mandatory so soon places like The Pirate Bay will be legally required to log the IP addresses of each connection and retain it for a couple of years. What if some other EU State sues TPB in an EU court demanding those records? Would you like the UK/German/French/Whatever version of the RIAA/MPAA having a
Re:worth noting (Score:5, Informative)
Re:worth noting (Score:2)
Re:worth noting (Score:2)
Re:worth noting (Score:2)
"Hehehe, cool, 'pirate party', let's click on that. Free rum to everyone, right? Hehehe. I like parrots. Hehehehe"
Re:worth noting (Score:5, Funny)
Re:worth noting (Score:5, Insightful)
It would. It won't happen. 4% nationwide is a huge barrier, and it's a rare thing indeed for a party to be able to.
And this election year, as I mentioned, there are already a couple of other new parties with a lot more visibility and general appeal sucking away the available pool of risktaker voters. Notably, even the most visible, most believable new party is currently polling at below 1%.
Far easier is to get local seats; this happens in a few places every year. Those parties are focusing on local issues, on the other hand.
So, the party is a fun idea, a good exercize in democracy, and possibly a very good way to raise awareness of copyright issues, but no, it won't get seats in parliament.
Re:The Ninja pirate will kick their arse (Score:2)
Re:Not Very Bright (Score:5, Informative)
Piratpartiet proposes a five (5) year exclusive commercial copyright. That is more than enough time for most projects to reach a sound profit. And, as most people reading this now are aware, the non-profit sharing of music and other copyrighted materials tends to make the material sell more, not less. Just like having a song played on the radio.
Re:Not Very Bright (Score:2)
Great. In that case, there is no need to reduce copyright as all profit-maximiziers will voluntarily engage in "the non-profit sharing of music and other copyrighted materials" in order to maximize their profits by "sell[ing] more, not less".
Yet another problem solved without having to change anything. What else is on the agenda today?
Re:Not Very Bright (Score:2)
On the contrary, we're proposing 500% more than what professor Joost Smiers suggests here [iht.com] (Op-Ed in the International Herald Tribune). I think that's being more than fair.
On the other hand, do we really want music made only by people who are in it for the money? Who are created by record companies to appeal to a mass market? Ready-made instant megastars who drain the resources from all deserving garage bands out there?
Or do we wa
Re:Not Very Bright (Score:3, Interesting)
They have NO interest in art & ALL interest in $$$. surely even the dimmest of you must realize this.
My art is REALLY good but i am now self employed doing something totally unrelated to survive & my art after that cause i love to.
Big
Re:Flying Spaghetti Monster? (Score:3, Informative)
Wrong kind of pirate.
Anyway, when Swedes go in for pillage and murder on the high seas, they don't call themselves pirates. They're Vikings. Much, much scarier ;-)