Ayn Rand and Wikipedia

Following the current discussion about SOPA and PIPA, and Wikipedia's 24-hour black out response to it I can't help to think about Ayn Rand.

Ayn Rand was, foremost, a philosopher who developed her own understanding of how people and the world works. She called her philosophy "Objectivism".

In various essays, lectures, and even novels Rand explained her ideas. "Atlas Shrugged", her master piece which she worked on for 12 years, came to my mind when I read Jimmy Wales', co-founder of Wikipedia, interview with CNN.

Asked why Wiki decided to shut down its English site Wales said: "Free speech includes the right to not speak. We are a community of volunteers. We have written this thing that we believe to be a gift to the world. We don't charge people for it. It's freely available to anybody who wants to (use it)."

In "Atlas Shrugged", in the face of increasing government regulations and forced takeover of intellectual and private property, the inventors, the entrepreneurs, the productive people of society decide to shut down. Not violently. They simply make use of their right to walk away from their invention, their investment, and their volunteered effort to serve society.

Needless to say that Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged world soon sinks into chaos as the incompetent take over.

Freedom of speech is yet another topic in this whole discussion, which is covered nicely under the veil of "protecting the rights of the people". I agree, intellectual as well as physical property should be protected by all means. But at what cost? Civil liberties such as freedom of speech?

As Wales' says: "The Supreme Court has held that code is speech. And it doesn't matter that it's done on a computer or done face to face or done in a newspaper, reporting the facts of the world is protected speech. I don't believe the DNS blocking provisions will pass First Amendment muster... [...]".

Are we about to over regulate the internet into censorship? Just like China does?

Of course, no democratic government would openly infringe on people's rights to freedom of speech. There would be a law "protecting" society which might force us to give up a little piece of our personal rights. And most people would nod in agreement that society needs to be protected from terror, thieves, and pornography. What they don't realize is their giving up on constitutional rights. Once those rights start corroding, there is no stopping it. As the Wiki page sums it up: "SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression". Ayn Rand argued the same line when the first laws to prohibit pornography in the US came into ruling.

It is incredible for me to see what foresight Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982) had and how her observations about people, society, the government, and laws and regulations hold true, especially today. Atlas Shrugged first published in 1957! It is one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Today, it reads like the script of the world wide stage play we see on the news.