The Ethics of the Digital Commons

This paper asks: Why is it morally good to foster the digital commons? How can we ethically justify the importance of the digital commons? An answer is given based on Aristotelian ethics. Because Alasdair MacIntyre is the most influential Aristotelian moral philosopher today, the paper engages with foundations of MacIntyre’s works and gives special attention to his concept of the common good and his analysis of how structures of domination damage the common good. It is argued that for advancing a philosophy of the (digital) commons, MacIntyre’s early and later works, in which he has been influenced by Karl Marx, are of particular importance. The approach taken in this paper combines Aristotle, Marx, and MacIntyre.

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