>>1521325I get this butthurt over music, too. Neither RIAA nor Monsanto nor any other private organization should be granted police powers from the State. Policing really is a proper function of government.
Where they legitimately defend their patents, I have no problem. It's not really "property" (the Constitution doesn't use the term Intellectual Property) but a grant by the state of limited term exclusivity.
Where Monsanto crosses the line is this. They GMO some seeds. Farmer Alice grows them. Farmer Bob lives next door and doesn't use GMO. Pollen from Alice's crops goes over to Bob's and a few of his plants have (unwanted) Monsanto dna. Now, Bob SHOULD be able to sue Monsanto for devaluing his produce. Instead, they put on their Depootie Dawg badge and haul Bob off the court for "stealing" their IP. Then they sue Charlie the natural seed farmer who didn't do shit, because he's the competition and they have police powers so why the fuck not.
Notice also that Monsanto has no incentive to develop gene tech that won't spread like that. In fact, they have an incentive to let it blow around so they can wage lawfare on farmers who refuse to be their customers.
Notice also how the worst abuses aren't because the government isn't powerful enough. They stem from the government fucking up trying to "fix" other previous problems.
