It's funny you say that: people like to say that about imaginary numbers, too...except for the "we need it psychologically" part.
The funny thing is, imaginary numbers are just as real as integers, and for those who take the time to study them, they are a powerful abstraction. And they are beautiful, too!
Now, I'm not going to say that private property is as beautiful as complex numbers, but I am going to say that we shouldn't just dismiss it as an "illegitimate" abstraction. Humans are social beings, and as such, we have dozens of useful abstractions: families, laws, religions, corporations, clubs, political parties, circles of friends, and so forth. All of these abstractions are as real as the integers, and they are legitimate for the same reasons: they allow us to organize ourselves to do things that would be difficult to individually.
Now that I think of it, it's psychological need that gives these various organizations legitimacy...and it is because of this psychological need, that private property becomes legitimate. After all, would any of us do what we do, if we can't count on society to protect the fruits of our labor--our paychecks, our homes, our clothing and food, and even our recreational things?
Having said that, this doesn't apply to so-called intellectual property: ideas flourish best when they can roam unfettered, and patents and copyrights interfere with that flow.
Also, how I wish someone would just dump a large sum of money in my lap, so I can just develop ideas freely! I don't have any desire to run a business, so I'd be happy if I could just develop things, and let others grab my "intellectual property" and run with it. (I could care less about what others do with my ideas, so long as I don't get locked out of my own work by some dubious patent or copyright issue.)
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[ 6.6 ms ] story [ 16.6 ms ] threadThe funny thing is, imaginary numbers are just as real as integers, and for those who take the time to study them, they are a powerful abstraction. And they are beautiful, too!
Now, I'm not going to say that private property is as beautiful as complex numbers, but I am going to say that we shouldn't just dismiss it as an "illegitimate" abstraction. Humans are social beings, and as such, we have dozens of useful abstractions: families, laws, religions, corporations, clubs, political parties, circles of friends, and so forth. All of these abstractions are as real as the integers, and they are legitimate for the same reasons: they allow us to organize ourselves to do things that would be difficult to individually.
Now that I think of it, it's psychological need that gives these various organizations legitimacy...and it is because of this psychological need, that private property becomes legitimate. After all, would any of us do what we do, if we can't count on society to protect the fruits of our labor--our paychecks, our homes, our clothing and food, and even our recreational things?
Having said that, this doesn't apply to so-called intellectual property: ideas flourish best when they can roam unfettered, and patents and copyrights interfere with that flow.
Also, how I wish someone would just dump a large sum of money in my lap, so I can just develop ideas freely! I don't have any desire to run a business, so I'd be happy if I could just develop things, and let others grab my "intellectual property" and run with it. (I could care less about what others do with my ideas, so long as I don't get locked out of my own work by some dubious patent or copyright issue.)