I will force myself to respond to no more than three of Black Unicorn's points, so as to avoid boring the audience:
("What if your customers were Moral Majority Christians?" you might ask. Then I'd say that all one has to do is tell one's customers the truth.
And this is supposed to convince moral majority christians?
No, but so what? Life isn't always fair. Since at most one religion is right, at least n -1 religions are based on lies, and hence nearly all religious statements are lies, defamations, etc. The connection with free speech is deep and important: saying "Joe Blow is a Satan worshipper" may or may not be true, but it is not the role of the State to define truth. What damages result, say, from my statements that Hebrew National hot dogs are made from the bodies of Christian children and that all good Christians should thus boycott Hebrew National products is unimportant. Like I said, damages (and benefits) occur all around us, but in the absence of a contract or physical aggression, too bad. (If Hebrew National can collect from me for my rantings, then I ought to be able to present them with a bill for saying good things about them!)
What redress is there however for the defamed?
Can Joe Blow really call my clients and produce forged evidence that I am a fugitive white collar criminal, destroy my business and hide behind free speech blankets?
In my admittedly extreme opinion, this is what cryptography will produce: essentially unforgeable identities and messages. Joe Blow will not be able to present himself as you, nor will he be able to convincingly forge evidence. This is actually the "anarchic" situation we see all around us, in parties, in office conversations, etc. Even on this list. People make outrageous claims (we call it gossip) and some claims are believed, some are not. Often the gossipmongers who make the most bogus claims find their credibility has evaporated. Where I differ from many, but am in agreement with the mainstream of anarchocapitalist thought (cf. David Friedman's "The Machinery of Freedom" or Bruce Benson's "The Enterprise of Law"), is that I don't believe businesses/corporations have any different set of laws applying to them than to individuals. That is, if gossip is not to be "outlawed" between a group like ours, it shouldn't be if I hire someone, or hire 100, or hire 10,000. One set of rules for all scales. There's much to be said about this point; maybe another time.
I guess it's my turn to sound angry. When was the last time you answered tmp publically? I don't mean this to be a barb... but I just don't think
About two weeks ago, to expand on a point he made. In general, I have no interest in defending myself against fools who claim I am the spawn of Satan, a pedophilic sodomite, an anarchist bomb-thrower, or a Tentacle of Medusa. Anyone foolish to believe rants like that _deserves_ to believe such rants! In something that may resonate in a strange way with your Swiss friends, I call this "libertarian Calvinism." Not only should one not interfere with one's neighbors lifestyle choices, as a practical matter, but to interfere is to deny that person the ability to make a moral choice. Thus, if your neighbor drinks himself into a stupor, or believes foolish nonsense about Tentacles and Snakes, then so be it. (Another version: Niven and Pournelle's "Think of it as evolution in action.") In the context of "defamation," those who believe lies and won't listen to "reason" (my side) are best met with shrugs. Not perfect, but better than the alternatives of initiating force against them. In the marketplace of ideas, all one can do is present ideas and products as best one can. If competitors "lie" and "defame," that's life. Ultimately, those who choose to buy a Yugo instead of a Toyota, based on "lies" about quality, will learn. The truth will out, because the truth produces greater ultimate fitness (the Toyota is a a better deal than the Yugo) and the incentives move the market in this direction. (A lot more to be said here....this is only the tip of the iceberg on how free markets work even in the presence of "noise.") To paraphrase a book title (which I refuse to read), "Everthing I needed to know about free speech I learned in the phrase 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.'" Call me a free speech absolutist, but I believe that. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."