Very little of that ARPA-ish research was militarily useful. A lot of it ended up in general domestic computing instead - which is likely a good thing.
What's depressing is the extent to which the free content movement has been driven by lawyers like Moglen and Lessig, who really know nothing at all about art, or what kind of work is involved in making it, but still seem to feel qualified to preach to working artists and musicians about how they should be trying to make a living.
However, I suspect, like many preachers, he would do well with that scheme.
However, this insecurity, valuable though it seemed in principle, was cherished almost exclusively either in the second person or in the abstract. Its need was thought urgent for inspiring the efforts of other persons or people in general. It seldom seemed vital for the individual himself. Restraints on competition and the free movement of prices, the greatest sources of uncertainty for business firms, have been principally deplored by university professors on lifetime appointments. Their security of tenure is deemed essential for fruitful and unremitting thought.
- Galbraith, The Affluent Society If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
