Today I would like to share with you a speech made in 1841 by Thomas Babbington Macaulay, a brilliant philosopher, critic and historian who was himself a great enemy of historical parochialism. The speech is on the topic of copyright, and the theories set forth became the basis of copyright policies in the English speaking world for well over a hundred years. These theories now popularly superceded by theories of natural rights to intellectual property.

It's incredible how little the debate on copyright has changed in 165 years.

Gold star to both Macaulay and the poster for making this available (in 2002, I'll note). Read it in it's entirety. In particular I was struck by the section on Milton's granddaughter...

Thus, then, stands the case. It is good that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good.

...

Considered as a reward to [the author, Samuel Johnson], the difference between a twenty years' and sixty years' term of posthumous copyright would have been nothing or next to nothing. But is the difference nothing to us? I can buy Rasselas for sixpence; I might have had to give five shillings [60 pence, per the footnotes -k] for it. I can buy the Dictionary, the entire genuine Dictionary, for two guineas, perhaps for less; I might have had to give five or six guineas for it. Do I grudge this to a man like Dr Johnson? Not at all. Show me that the prospect of this boon roused him to any vigorous effort, or sustained his spirits under depressing circumstances, and I am quite willing to pay the price of such an object, heavy as that price is. But what I do complain of is that my circumstances are to be worse, and Johnson's none the better; that I am to give five pounds for what to him was not worth a farthing.

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