I had a bit of an original thought today. Doesn't happen very often. :)
I was thinking about the ease with which a computer geek can download content from the Internet. Things like Napster, Kazaa, Pirate-Bay and the various underlying protocols which support them (bit torrent, ftp, secure http, irc). Every time the authorities close one loophole another opens up somewhere else like some collosal game of whack-a-mole.
Obi-Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
To a computer geek it is trivial to move files from place to place and more importantly to find the instructions of how the learn any new protocols which come along. This makes procuring TV shows, music, e-books (for the really intellectual geeks :-) ) fairly effortless.
Obviously, for muggles this is not so straightforward. They do not have the technical ability to do this which means either relying on a geek or using a service like iTunes or Amazon to get their content.
It suddenly occurred to me that this is a form of wealth. It's wealth in the sense that it requires less effort (think how much a competent plumber would save on labour charges (+ VAT) to fix the heating system in his own house).
It then occurred to me that what is referred to as Internet Piracy could be thought of as tribute to the technically competent from the technically challenged.
Some time ago, I was reading an article about Paul Wolfowitz. He used to be head of the World Bank and I discovered that he basically paid NO TAX on his income. I remember remarking at the time. "How does he get away with that then. What a scam ! What an outrage !".
Based on the insight above I realised what it probably really meant. I thought, hang on, that sounds a bit like the Romans. The World Bank are the Romans. They don't pay tax because they are in charge. Render unto Wolfowitz, that which is Wolfowitz'. Of course its no longer Wolfowitz, its looks like its this guy now.
So perhaps the geeks will inherit the earth after all. :-)
