If patents worked the way they were supposed to, this would be fine. People who had an interest in building or using a technology would weight the difference be

If patents worked the way they were supposed to, this would be fine. People who had an interest in building or using a technology would weight the difference between licensing a patent, or buying it outright and the market would thrive. Instead, we have a cabal of robber barons forming with no intention or building anything whose sole purpose is to rent-seek (or outright extort) those who are actually making progress in any given field. Perhaps as a society, we need Nathan Myhrvold. We're civilized enough to know that we can't have warlords driving rusty toyotas around terrorizing villagers with ak47's but not quite civilized enough to purge ourselves of the type of men who desire such lives. So we give them paper weapons and tolerate their antisocial behavior. At least no one dies while we collectively wait to grow up.