Development of Creative Commons licenses

[James Grimmelmann <james AT grimmelmann.net>]

drew Roberts wrote:

> > Giving freedoms to those would deny us the same is an important value of
> > tolerant liberal democracy.  We strive to give everyone the same
> > essential freedoms -- and we strive to intervene only when those would
> > restrict those freedoms actually try to do so.
>
> But this is partly what I feel I am doing which is trying to do my small part 
> to  intervene where others are trying to create systems and a society where 
> those freedoms are restricted and even denied.

That is a reasonable and respectable position.  You see the choice not 
to have a parallel distribution clause as a choice not to contribute 
some support for systems that would try to deprive others of important 
freedoms.  I agree that parallel distribution would contribute some 
support to those systems.  I think that the support is mostly indirect 
and is small compared with the freedoms it would enable in other ways. 
I think we both agree on kinds the effects that adding the clause would 
have.  We just disagree about what their likely scale will be and on how 
much moral weight we place on different effects.

> I have looked very hard to find language that would compromise in ways that I 
> personally would rather not compromise in these discussions.
>
> What compromises can you live with?

I can live with this one, at least.

James