Lawrence Lessig, the Stanford professor who invented the Creative Commons system and has written numerous books about intellectual property rights over the past 10 years, announced via his blog that he is shifting his academic focus to the topic of "corruption". His explanation is worth reading and the line that rang clear as a bell for me was this:
"That our government can't understand basic facts when strong interests have an interest in its misunderstanding."
I have strong concerns about the lack of civic engagement, the civility of political and public discussions and the consistent decline in the amount of coverage local government receives from the media. In my view they are inter-related and a dangerous trend. Perhaps Professor Lessig will show us ways to fight corruption and promote civic renewal. Stay tuned.
