Aaron Swartz

“ Lessig's analogy about the people who saw the headmaster abusing people and did nothing fails, for me, for three reasons:
I believe most people are not only basically good but they are *highly motivated to do good* .
People are often behaving rationally even when they act against their own interest, including those times when they don't do good even though they'd like to. ”

“ If you or I, provided we have sufficient karma, give a tip an upvote, that should mean something. And, perhaps, once a tip has been given enough points from enough people with enough karma, it automatically gets its own Wiki page where it can be reviewed and, ideally, corroborated or disproved.
Is this far-fetched? Probably. But everything about Lessig's project is pretty far-fetched. What I like about this idea is twofold.
First, it gives anyone a chance to take action. Know something damning? In five minutes you can get it off your chest. Don't know anything damning? ”

“ Most lobbies have opposing lobbies. Not all, but there's not a lot of incentive to create a powerful lobby unless there's someone to oppose. Most corporations have competitors, as do most politicians. As you point out, the Democrats were powerful enough to help see to it that Watergate conspirators were prosecuted. ”

“ The cigarette industry is still powerful, but it's a lot less so after weathering so many lawsuits. While I favor tort reform, even with reform it's likely going to be worth it for people to seek damages from corrupt corporate executives, elected officials, etc. ”

“ You can get involved in either the vetting or the investigation process. So people have something to do, they feel empowered. Part of the wise crowd gets to play Deep Throat, the other part Woodward and Bernstein . ”