>This talk right not be a good example of the right to taking on the
>left. The issue of intellectual property, this Ian knows very well,
>does not exactly fit into the typical cookie cutter separations of
>issues. Many on the right have traditionally been skeptical about
>intellectual property rights because they grant monopoly powers that
>override market forces. I suspect that the Federalist group expected to
>find some agreement with Boyle when they invited him.
Of course they were looking for the useful parts of Boyle's views in order to then recapture them for a rightwing context- that's exactly what Right and Left always do, whether Marx noting the admirable parts of Adam Smith's vision vis a vis feudalism, while then slamming the dire consequences of its full application to society.
As a fan (and student of Boyle), the Right in no way wants to assimilate Boyle's full out assault on markets and his disdain for pretty much the whole structure of profit-making structures in IP industries. I recommend his SHAMANS, SOFTWARE & SPLEENS as a great very readable overview of a whole range of economic and legal issues in these areas.
But the point is that they invited him in order to engage him. One reason I am pretty aware of this phenomena is I lived in DC last summer with a rightwing NRA Randian who was always trotting over to the Heritage Foundation and often tried to get me to come along by pointing out which liberal or leftie they had speaking on the panel that day.
-- Nathan Newman