Thomas Babington Macaulay
A British historian and politician who echoed Jefferson's concerns about intellectual property.
Core Belief
"Intellectual property is a necessary evil that must be carefully circumscribed by law to prevent it from becoming a tool of oppression and hindering the progress of knowledge."
Worldview
Macaulay views the world through the lens of history and economics, recognizing the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of free markets in promoting prosperity and cultural flourishing.
Personality
Eloquent, analytical, and deeply suspicious of monopolies, Macaulay is depicted as a staunch defender of free trade and a powerful advocate for limiting intellectual property rights in the public interest. He is portrayed as a witty and persuasive speaker.
In Their Own Words
"Copyright is monopoly, and produces all the effects which the general voice of mankind attributes to monopoly."
"It is good that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil."
"Considered as a reward to him, the difference between a twenty years' and a sixty years' term of posthumous copyright would have been nothing or next to nothing. But is the difference nothing to us?"
Discussions with Thomas Babington Macaulay
Other Characters from The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind
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