Benker and Nissenbaum have a provocative argument for why peer production is virtuous. Here are their two principles:
(a) that a society that provides opportunities for virtuous behavior is one that is more conducive to virtuous individuals; and (b) that the practice of effective virtuous behavior may lead to more people adopting virtues as their own, or as attributes of what they see as their self-definition.
What do you think, does Wikipedia and YouTube contribute to a more virtuous society?
Comments 1
King Politics — February 2, 2009
If I could turn this into an economics discussion. Am I the only that finds it ironic that virtue and capitalism can live side-by-side or can they? Big media outfits consistently find it harder to turn a profit as they are torn asunder by virtuous competitors. Or will the desire for profit eventually end the virtuous production of wikis? What am I missing?