All of which I like in theory, although my concern is that I still want artists and other creative types to make a living off of their work. Donations only may be difficult.
Besides the personal micro-donations, there are larger scale funding mechanisms for a Free Cultural sector which I haven't brought into this thread. One funding method is peer-based grants. Sometimes a great artist/designer is recognized only by his or her peers; their work is not yet appreciated by the public. That's where non-governmental/non-commercial associations of artists/designers/scientists could provide grants and stipends to unrecognized peers in their field.
Perhaps kickstarter is a trend towards the direction your advocating, though. People are essentially investing in creative properties that they enjoy.
Exactly. Kickstarter a great tool for building a third sector of Free Culture.
I do wonder, though, if what you are talking about is simply too advanced for the larger social-cultural-economic context that we live in, and thus too out of sync. I mean, I would love to see all artists and musicians offer their work freely (by donation) online, with perhaps only manufacturing and shipping costs charged for hardcopies (cds, prints, books, etc). But are we there yet?
I personally think a deeper change of consciousness needs to occur, one in which our values begin to shift from material wealth to deeper, more subtle qualities of health, well-being, self-actualization, etc. We simply are so far from that, although there are glimmerings.
The glimmerings won't glow brighter unless they are consciously stoked.
Well again, why shouldn't the author receive remuneration? As some mentioned, time = money. Creators are paid for the time they put into their creations. I mean, I hear that you are speaking especially about people doing things like your Mystara projects. But would this extend to people offering their own unique creations?
Time = Life. I'm not saying that's bad that, in our current way of life, authors treat their books as just another commodity to be bought and sold. But in a free cultural sector, creators are paid not so much "for the time they put into their creations", but paid because they are fruitful and inspiring, and because of their personal connection with the audience of patrons (such as kickstarter).
People wouldn't have to adopt the Free Culture model. There could still be "cultural businesses". The main structural difference between a "cultural business" and a "free cultural initiative" is that any transaction which involves receiving an object or service in exchange for money would be taxed. Donated monies would not be taxed.
I understand and appreciate that you're wanting to differentiate the threefold social order and not mix them up, but the thing I'd worry about is that if you leave money solely to the economic sphere, do people only make money through economic, functional, utilitarian work? Where does the artist fit into this?
Mercurius, I feel relieved that you understand what I'm saying. Your questions about the details are right on.
In brief, if an producer in a cultural field doesn't evoke appreciation for their work (from, say, kickstarter patrons or from peer grants) then they will need to find work in the Economic Republic (a term for the entire economy as a coherent entity) or in the Rights Republic (the political governance).
The only way what you are talking about could really work, in my opinion, is with some kind of "citizen's stipend" - and yes, for those fearing the dreaded "S" word, that is socialism. I could imagine a society where all citizens receive a base stipend that is equal to the cost of living simply, but healthfully, with single-payer healthcare that includes services of one's choice (e.g. holistic, naturopathic).
A Basic Income, as considered in Switzerland, is one way to go about it. Though in America, given our natural distaste for governmentalism, I suggest transforming the "minimum wage" into a more abundant Fraternal Livelihood which is still tied to gainful work. It would be more feasible then for an aspiring cultural practictioner (e.g. amateur game designers) to work, say 30 hours at a conventional retail job, and have enough to pay rent and so forth, and still have time and energy to devote to their creative aspirations.
If someone wants more money, they work for it through various means - including donations for cultural services, and greater responsibilities in the economic and political spheres.
Yes, right on.
But we're so far from this. It would require, again, a shift in the way we think - in what we value.
Yes it will require a massive displacement in conceptions, emotions, and motivations. I've just published a
two-volume book about this, entitled
The Idea and
World Wide Trisecting. Even D&D and Hasbro have a place in the healthy, humane future. I mention D&D in Book Two.
Doesn't the owner of a copyright have the freedom to allow others to use their IP? This is where self-publishing is key to building towards the future you're talking about.
Yes, I only advocate two changes in copyright law:
1) A rollback from 120 years to 18 years (the length of one generation).
2) A removal of the law which compels copyright holders to send cease-and-desist orders and lawsuits to every single potential unauthorized use of their copyrighted material. Presently, copyright holders have to do this, or their copyright can be voided. This aspect of the law was purchased by the lawyer industry to keep their business going. I suggest leaving it to the whim of the copyright holder. Some might adopt a live-and-let live attitude toward some uses.
Besides that, I only advocate that artists/creators freely de-commoditize their work, as a voluntary action toward realizing a Free Culture.
I mean, why not do both? Offer up your Mystara stuff freely, but then begin work on something of your own design? You might find it liberating - no longer playing in a sandbox with someone else's toys.
Yes, that's a good idea. This thread has inspired me.
Well I agree, and it may be that they're doing something like this with 5E - licensing out projects to different "WotC approved" companies. It is clearly very limited so far...
Yeah, these products, though of high quality, are just contracted Hasbro books. That alone is not going to bring the Third Golden Age. I prefer four things to go on at the same time:
1) The 5E SRD needs to be opened even wider than the OGL...and it doesn't get any wider than Public Domain. Every sort of third-party publisher and self-publisher gets into the game...the good, the bad, and the ugly.
2) Hasbro would continue to produce a few big titles each year, which stay in print for a decade, because they are so well-supported by the Public Domain-fueled inferno of interest.
3) Hasbro would or could continue to produce a few contracted books and accessories, for things it doesn't want to do in-house. As you say, this is what we're seeing so far.
4) Hasbro and an association of quality game producers join together to make a "Quality Mark". It would not be a bad idea to get this Quality Mark going from the start. Promote this Quality Mark among the game distributors and gamestores; and educate them, and the game-buying public, about how that mark distinguishes that Association's products from other SRD products. Yes, this means Hasbro acting as a genuine peer to Paizo (!), Green Ronin, Pelgrane, Monte Cook Games, Necromancer Games, Goodman Games, EN World Publishing, and others, instead of as a dog-eat-dog competitor. The peer relationship is an associative relationship. The domineering, controlling, dickering relationship is a corporatist relationship.
But free the SRD anyway, otherwise 5E will be handicapped and this edition will consist only of Hasbro works, plus contracted Hasbro works, plus fan works, plus a few things from third parties that are deftly written to be implicitly compatible with 5E (Goodman games "Fifth Edition" adventures). That's no Golden Age. That's just a slightly more liberal, slightly less constricted version of the Fourth Edition era.
Hey, I'm just another bozo on the bus! But no problem. Keep up the dreaming and don't get discouraged by people's reactions!
Thanks Mercurius.
