Remix (http://ia600204.us.archive.org/13/items/LawrenceLessigRemix/Remix-o.pdf) is an essay written by Lawrence Lessig, a political activist and academic particularly interested in copyright law and freedom of information in regards to culture. The essay, of which I read part 1, concentrates on his views on the evolution of copyrights because of technology, how he feels it affects culture, and his views on ‘read/write (RW) culture’ and ‘read/only (RO) culture’. RO is culture products one consumes, but does not respond too – like most TV shows. RW culture is cultural products people consume, think about and remix into something else – for example, a musician mixing songs together, or a student who quotes a book in a paper. Lessig feels that the copyrights of the current era are attempting to convert everything to RO, at the cost of much of the creativity of culture – with the catch phrase of “permission is vital, legally’. It is remarked upon how the march of the development of entertainment, digital media, has made RW culture much easier, compared earlier visions, where live performances and then analog media, make RO the only possible form of consumption. Lessig feels that both versions of culture have their place, but feels that there should be much more efficient and logical legislation to govern copyrights and the ilk.

I agree with much of what Lessig says regarding the topics of copyrights and the conflict between RO and RW cultures. I personally am a fan of much of the results of RW culture, such as the wiki websites and open source software. However, the area I feel his arguments are lacking is the how – he creates a basis for what changes he would like to see in the system, but does little to expand upon it. Any changes in the copyright system would be fiercely contested, and how these changes would be made to happen is an important part of any argument advocating for change.