Helprin on EconTalk

by John Holbo on July 2, 2009

Having knocked Mark “digital barbarism” Helprin around in a trio of posts – in one of which I remarked that the guy should probably listen to EconTalk to learn that libertarians are actually skeptical about the merits of copyright extension – I am duty-bound to report that Helprin was just a guest on EconTalk. (If you don’t know, EconTalk is a very George Mason-y econ podcast, hosted by Russ Roberts. It’s often quite good, in my opinion.) Man, I just knew Roberts was going to turn out to be a big fan of Helprin’s fiction. Also, Roberts’ podcast interviews are always collegial, which is a fine thing as a rule. So Helprin gets off way too light. (I imagine Roberts knows in his heart he let some objectively silly arguments pass unchallenged, and consoles himself with the knowledge that, a couple weeks ago, he conducted an equally friendly interview with someone who argues for the economic rationality of abolishing IP altogether.)

Anyway, if you want to hear the copyright extension arguments from Helprin himself, without buying the book, feel free. EconTalk also features a brutally compressed, Hemingway-writes-stream-of consciousness transcript, so you can skim for potential points of interest.

I do think Helprin overdid it with the Texas Ranger analogy, round about minute 5: “Famous Texas Ranger, Frank Parker, in many gunfights, something like 40, and won all of them, which meant the other person was dead. Technique hard to copy: instead of immediately pulling out his pistol and firing like the bad guys, he waited until he had a clear shot. Rather than respond on the internet, patiently wrote a book; two years after the attack, answer to the attack.” Two whole years to draw and miss the broad side of the barn. That’s like Shane meets Hot Lead and Cold Feet at an entmoot. If Helprin’s arguments are indeed as bad as I still take them to be. Please feel free to report your reactions in comments.

Helprin descends into pretty extreme cultural decay gloom-and-doom mode and mood. Somehow Creative Commons is a collectivist threat to authorial control and individuality. Snip from abbreviated transcript: “Imagine a world in which anyone can attribute anything to anybody – in a way, the internet world. Value more than any money the ability to say something and keep it what it is rather than have someone else misrepresent it.” (Why it doesn’t occur to him to pick one of the CC options that includes ‘disallow modification of your work’ I surely don’t know. I guess he just doesn’t like choice.) But enough of that.

In all false modesty, I think I did the extreme cultural decay theme better over the past two days of Squid and Owl. (Why do I keep having to remind you to read it? Don’t you care about culture? I even rhymed ‘prokaryotesque’ with ‘so very grotesque’. What more could you ask for?)

{ 14 comments }

1

ben 07.02.09 at 6:03 pm

Why do I keep having to remind you to read it? Don’t you care about culture?

I sense an opportunity for snidery…

A flickr set isn’t really a very congenial way to read a webcomic, as it turns out.

2

Henry 07.02.09 at 6:09 pm

Since _every bloody version_ of the CC license these days includes the ‘With Attribution’ tag, Helprin really, really doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about.

3

John Holbo 07.02.09 at 6:09 pm

But … but it has an RSS feed and everything. Oh, alright. As long as you promise to buy the book when it comes out.

4

ben 07.02.09 at 6:25 pm

I’m not sophisticated enough to use an RSS reader.

5

Dave Maier 07.02.09 at 7:09 pm

Speaking of entmoots, you seem to be taking your time with the promised follow-up to that other post about anti-realism. That’s okay though — mustn’t be hasty! (Just don’t forget.)

6

Barry 07.02.09 at 9:59 pm

“Why do I keep having to remind you to read it? Don’t you care about culture?”

When somebody speaks of culture, I draw my pistol.

A few years later, that is.

If my pistol hasn’t rusted away in the meantime.

7

John Holbo 07.03.09 at 12:47 am

ben, ben, ben, I know everyone says that women find men who can’t use RSS readers to be ‘sexy’ (as the kids say). But I think you need just to look in the mirror and say: I know a ton about grammar and goldarn it, people like me!

8

Tim Wilkinson 07.03.09 at 1:42 am

If my pistol hasn’t rusted away in the meantime.

Browning, is it?

9

zamfir 07.03.09 at 4:48 pm

im sorry john, i too like s&o but cant handle the flickr

10

John Quiggin 07.03.09 at 10:20 pm

Me too on Flickr. I always forget my login.

11

jholbo 07.04.09 at 6:44 am

“I always forget my login.”

But surely you don’t need your login to view other people’s stuff on Flickr. (Do you? I’m always logged in so I guess there might be some inconvenience I’m not seeing.) Ah well, this was sort of a stop-gap publication method until I make book and sell, like, 20 copies to friends and relatives. It is really supposed to be a paper product.

12

Mike Munger 07.04.09 at 8:32 am

If I may be so bold as to return to the subject of JHolbo’s actual post….

Wow! Were you ever right, John. Mr. Helperin appeared on EconTalk, but was not in any way affected by it. Russ appears to worship Helperin as a G*d figure, because of Helperin’s writing talents. And that is fair enough.

But it is safe to say that we libertarians do, indeed, have some questions about the merits of Mr. Helperin’s positions. I wish Russ had asked some of those questions.

There is a famous libertarian,
AJ Galambos , who had views even more extreme than Helperin’s. It is an interesting subject, though I happen to take the opposite view.

13

Salient 07.06.09 at 1:27 pm

I even rhymed ‘prokaryotesque’ with ‘so very grotesque’. What more could you ask for?

I could ask you to turn lepidoptera into a complement that rhymes nicely. ‘Cept that’s done been done already. So I really have nothing more to ask for, or wish for, or hope for: just patiently await the next installment, and watch the clock.

14

jholbo 07.06.09 at 1:58 pm

Thank you kindly, Salient. Only I must warn you that I’m going on vacation in a few days and S&O is going on a couple weeks hiatus, until the first week of August.

Comments on this entry are closed.