Ethics  in the Information Age                     Third Paper Assignment   Due: December 9

General Directions:  

            Write an essay explaining and supporting your views on one of the following topics.  Write a total of 4-6 pages, typed, double-spaced.  Write as clearly and concisely as you can.  Explain any technical terms you use.  Pretend that, instead of being read by a teacher who has read all the class readings, your essay will be read by an intelligent and well-informed person who has read no such material, and who needs to have the issues explained in a way that does not assume any acquaintance with academic writing about ethics or about the social policy issues you are discussing.  Answer mainly in your own words.  Put quotations in quotation marks (and use quotes sparingly).  When you borrow a phrase or argument or idea from another writer, give them credit. 

Specific topic options:

1.  Intellectual property:   Why do some people think that it is important that our legal system provide strong protections for ‘intellectual property’ in the form of patent and copyright laws?  What reasons have been given for strengthening those protections in recent years ( by extending the period of copyrights, for example)?  Why do Benkler and Stallman (among others) think that these protections have become counter-productive, given the economics of information production and, especially, the growth of ‘commons-based peer production’ (for example: open-source/free software)?  What do you think?

2. Can the Internet help us be more democratic?  Benkler (among others) thinks that the Internet makes possible a more vibrant and democratic ‘public sphere’.  Sunstein (among others) thinks the effects on democratic politics may well be negative.  Explain briefly the arguments on each side of this debate.  What do you think?