Digital barbarism : : a writer's manifesto / Mark Helprin.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [219]-223) and index.

The acceleration of tranquility : civilization and velocity -- Death on a red horse : the first targets of the barbarians are copyright and the individual voice -- Notes on Virginia : reclaiming Jefferson and taking care of Macaulay -- The espresso book machine : using machines to hold machines in check -- Property as a coefficient of liberty : property is not antithetical to virtue -- Convergence : wait as long as you want, it will not come -- Parthian shot : calling barbarism for what it is.

Mark Helprin anticipated that his 2007 New York Times op-ed piece about the extension of the term of copyright would be received quietly, if not altogether overlooked. Within a week, the article had accumulated 750,000 angry comments. He was shocked by the breathtaking sense of entitlement demonstrated by the commenters, and appalled by the breadth, speed, and illogic of their responses. Helprin realized how drastically different this generation is from those before it. The Creative Commons movement and the copyright abolitionists, like the rest of their generation, were educated with a bias toward collaboration, which has led them to denigrate individual efforts and in turn fueled their sense of entitlement to the fruits of other people's labors. More important, their desire to "stick it" to the greedy corporate interests who control the production and distribution of intellectual property undermines not just the possibility of an independent literary culture but threatens the future of civilization itself.--From publisher description.