The SOPA/PIPA battle is on and a lot is being written over the matter offline as well as online, so instead of dwelling on what it is, I would directly go to why it is – its very genesis. Capitalists have been ruling not only the planet Earth but its space too, for a pretty long time since the modernity entered human minds. They have been playing the game, called business, as they think fit to maximize their profits with all sorts of exploitations of common people and inhumane practices called their business strategies.
To support my above said view, I would just give two examples on how the capitalism is driving humanity away from very basic humane traits which we choose to get civilized. These two traits are ‘cooperation’ with and ‘non-exploitation’ of others in endeavors of any individual. The capitalists, now, preach instead ‘competition for progress’ and ‘exploitation of opportunities’ to maximize their profits. In the above phrases, the ‘progress’ is their own while the ‘opportunities’ are compulsions of other people.
The Genesis
With the advent of Internet and its availability to common people, a new type of business enterprising evolved called ‘collaborative enterprising’ with opportunities open for all to participate even without any capital investment in the enterprise. Wikipedia, Google, Wordpress, etc are few leading names of a huge list of those seeding the spirit of collaborative enterprising. With this type of enterprising, now anybody sitting in his/her own home may contribute his/her might to this type of enterprising through using his/her fingers on the keyboard of his/her computer, as and when he/she wishes with gains proportionate to his/her strategic involvement in the enterprising. Home-bound women, with responsibilities of taking care of their respective families, are participating in this enterprising in a big way, apart from retired professionals. For example, with my involvement of a few hours of my free time, I earn a few dollars every month without any investment and through use of my fingers only.
This collaborative enterprising becomes an ocean with minute drops of contributions from millions of individuals from all over the globe, and surely a challenge to the capitalistic empires of the world. These capitalists with a fear in their minds, got united and lobbied to bring a legislation to block the free participation of people in this collaborative enterprising using Internet services. Free expression of public opinion and free participation in collaborative enterprising go against capitalistic interests, hence, they are determined to block it. The SOPA/PIPA legislations are aimed at this blockade.
The Fate
There is a popular saying in rural India, “Nobody can’t fight the society and the God”. I know with certainty that no God exists else there would not have been anything like capitalism, but I can very much realize and visualize the power of the society as an undefeatable force. The world history witnesses whenever and wherever the people have risen against tyrannical forces, they have won. Capitalistic business empires all over the globe are no less tyrannical than Emperors of the past who used to keep thousands of women in their harems as status symbols.
The victory of the people and their collaborative enterprising is the certain outcome of the current SOPA/PIPA battle. Similar battles are on in various countries, including India, where freedom of collaborative enterprising and that of expression are being challenged in corridors of power.
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