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German here, I don't get why non-Germans are so excited about the success of the Pirate Party in Germany. It does not mean that Germans care strongly about copy
by copx 14y ago
German here, I don't get why non-Germans are so excited about the success of the Pirate Party in Germany. It does not mean that Germans care strongly about copyright and patent reform, quite the opposite is the case.
According to polls >70% of the Pirate Party voters are pure protest voters who don't care what the party stands for. Well, except that they aren't Nazis or socialists (the only other anti-establishment options). Most people don't care about copyright laws at all, that's why the Pirate Party is a "safe" protest vote.
- morsch 14y agoParties that are disparaged as being the beneficiary of protest votes tend to shape the public discourse in terms of what people are protesting agains. This has already happened, copyright reform is a much more visible topic now than it used to be. I keep reading arguments I had on the internet 10 years ago rehashed (sometimes badly) in respectable newspapers. People are at least vaguely aware of the pirate party's position, as much as there is one. If nothing else, I doubt people who are in favor of more expansive copyright would vote PP. And arguably, any anti-establishment vote, if you want to call it that way, is bound to be a vote in favor of copyright reform.