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Cory Doctorow writes: This isn't capitalism, nor is it socialism. It's a kind of corporatism in which the risk―the money spent speculatively mapping Britain, a
by lamby 17y ago
Cory Doctorow writes:
This isn't capitalism, nor is it socialism. It's a kind of corporatism in which the risk―the money spent speculatively mapping Britain, arguing in Parliament, drawing up postal code boundaries―is entirely assumed by the public, but the reward―access and profit-taking―are entirely given to the private sector.
- robin_reala 17y agoSame goes for the Ordnance Survey. Luckily, they’re in the process of being taken apart online by OpenStreetMap. Having said that, their paper maps are wonderful.
- crc32 17y agoit is not true that the "reward [is] entirely given to the private sector." the royal mail is owned by the government, so the profits extracted from selling the postcode database could be viewed as subsidising other services. (post in rural areas, for example)