Digital Barbarism

Mark Helprin anticipated thathis 2007 New York Times op-edpiece about the extension of theterm of copyright would be receivedquietly. instead, within a week, thearticle had generated 750,000angry comments. shocked by hisyoung critics' breathtaking senseof entitlement and appalled by thebreadth, speed, and illogic of theirarguments, Helprin realized howdrastically different this generationwas from those before it. theCreative Commons movement andthe copyright abolitionists havebeen educated with a modern biastoward collaboration, which hasled them to denigrate individualefforts. Digital Barbarism is Helprin'scogent, powerful, and passionateresponse to those whose selfishdesire to "stick it" to the "greedy"corporate interests controlling thedistribution of intellectual propertyundermines not just the possibilityof an independent literary culturebut threatens the future of civilizationitself.