Dean Baker — The Patent Theory of Knowledge

I would call the patent theory of knowledge part of the rent theory of "free market" economics along with other types of enclosure of the commons since privatization and monetization are needed to avoid "the tragedy of the commons," since the commons would either go to waste or else be misused. Neoliberalism is not actually liberalism, since it is not about free markets and perfect competition but economic power and the development and extension of asymmetries of power, information, and access that disadvantage "commoners."

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The Patent Theory of Knowledge
Dean Baker | CEPR