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Subject: Creative Commons-Eyebeam Forum 2003 November 12-19

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  • From: "R M Jolliffe" <jollirm AT unisa.ac.za>
  • To: <cc-eyebeam AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [cc-eyebeam] Art, property and water
  • Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 12:51:44 +0200

Hi

My name is Bob and I've been following this list with great interest and
fascination, also from South Africa (hi Heather). I am not what you might
call an artist but I do write software as a creative rather than an
industrial activity.

The issue of art as property (or not) caught my eye. Unfortunately the
American view of property seems to be bound to the tradition of the likes of
John Locke - its all about the inalienable right of individuals to own (and
exchange) stuff. And to bear arms in order to defend that right.

Fortunately there are alternative views and traditions. The marxist
perspective of property, for example, gives us a useful way to understand
commons (and other) property. Property is not the thing. Property is the
social relations around the thing. In this sense it is more interesting to
talk of property rights than property - it is less confusing and infinitely
more flexible.

A good example close to our hearts in much of the "developing world" is water
rights. These rights are not simply about ownership. Water can be private,
public or commons managed. Communities and individuals can have access
rights, allocation rights, control rights etc. The various mixtures of
property rights are multi-dimensional and a reflection of the social
relations which exist between the parties.

For me it seems that the Creative Commons licences are attempting to create a
similar flexible framework of property rights around creative works. Being
creative about the ways in which we mix and match property rights means being
creative in reflecting (and shaping) the way we relate to one another. The
substantive "piece" of art, the creation, is the medium around which these
relationships are built, enjoyed, challenged etc.

In Africa traditionally these relationships are valued very highly.
Certainly as highly as the Western world has valued the right to private
property. The Zulu word, Ubuntu, for example, captures the essence of a
world view profoundly based on community. The South African Governmental
White Paper on Welfare officially recognises Ubuntu as: "Each individual's
humanity is ideally expressed through his or her relationship with others and
theirs in turn through a recognition of the individual's humanity. Ubuntu
means that people are people through other people."

Somewhere in here is a clue to why we create. With or without the market.

Bob

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  • [cc-eyebeam] Art, property and water, R M Jolliffe, 11/19/2003

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