Larry Lessig's Not Shifting On Net Neutrality, But Jaunt To Harvard Is Bothersome

Back when I had more time on my hands I was a daily consumer of the blog of law professor Larry Lessig. Lessig's known for his path-breaking takes, ideas, and legal research and expert testimony on something called "net neutrality" and the development of the Creative Commons. But since he was at Stanford, I always saw him as a part of the San Francisco Bay Area's unique culture.

See, unlike other parts of America, "town" and "gown" in the Bay Area mix well. There are so many smart, almost smart, and people who think they're smart, and some mix of the three (those who venture into areas not of their expertise), that it keeps the mind active and constantly challenged. There's no other place in America like this region. It's for that reason I can't imagine why Larry would take off for Harvard.

Now, in his blog he mentions a scholarly shift from "culture" to what I would simply call "power" or what elected officials and institutions do that's "subverted" by money. At a time when our very way of life is still being rocked by technological change and specifically the Internet, I can't at all see the value of such a shift. Especially by someone in Lessig who's helped shape how we protect creatives in a time when the law seems to want to stifle us.

I've always associated Harvard with money, not intellect. Berkeley, and to a bit of a lesser degree, Stanford, I associate with intellect. When I read Larry's blog, my first thought was "Harvard bought him off." So it's interesting that Professor Lessig would leave for the moneyed institution to study about, well, how money's corrupting areas of public trust.

In any case, I wish him well, but I also wish he'd reconsider his decision.