Corruption

This is not entirely youth related, but it hits a topic that is only second to youth organizing in my heart and head - free culture and technology. Lawrence Lessig, founder of the Creative Commons movement and author of some indespensible books like Free Culture (which helped spawn the student Free Culture Movement) and the Future of Ideas just launched a new website - Lessig 08 - to explore a run for Congress in a special election to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos.

After 10 years fighting for an open internet and sane copyright laws that encourage innovation and embrace remix culture, Lessig is now dedicating the next 10 years of his life to tackling the problem of corruption in government. A seat in the House of Representatives would be an amazing platform for Professor Lessig in his new fight against corruption, and will bring sorely needed knowledge about how the internets actually works to Congress (hint: it's not a series of tubes).

He's raising money now through Act Blue. Once I get my next paycheck I'll probably throw him $25.

And of course, what would anything Lessig be without the requisite power point presentation:

This is slightly off topic, but Professor Lawrence Lessig, famous for his work on copyright, has decided for the next 10 years to focus his efforts on battling corruption. This is his first lecture on the subject.

He's talking about corruption in government (money in politics), but also more generally about corruption in the sense that money incentivizes certain practices that it shouldn't, creating failures in supposedly free and peer-reviewed markets.

In light of what has been uncovered in the student loan industry, contractors in Iraq, and the failures of our government to take action on global warming despite an overwhelming scientific consensus on the subject, this seems particularly relevant. Lessig is making important points about the underlying reasons as to why our government is failing on these issues that are of such high concern to young voters.

Towards the end he gets at solutions, giving props to new organizations that use technology and peer production to increase transparency in the system, like MAPLight, and the Sunlight Foundation, but ultimately sees traditional reform and new technology as only part of the solution. Most specifically he's calling for us to figure out how to change the cultural norms that enable corruption. It's a long lecture, but the 65 minutes is well worth your time.

On a related note - check out this NY Times article about Students for a Free Culture, a Lessig-inspired student copyright organization.