rights again Re: [governance] Inputs ...

[Milton L Mueller]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tapani Tarvainen [mailto:tapani.tarvainen at effi.org]
> But perhaps I should yield to the more forgiving interpretation that
> such rights are implicitly limited by circumstances, have an implicit
> "as long as we can afford it" -clause.

;-) 

I like that, the old "as long as we can afford it" clause. ALAWCAI. If
Parminder adds that to all his positive rights claims the
realist/economist in me will be satisfied, or at least abate. 

One could consider Article 29 states' "ALAWCAI clause" for freedom of
expression.

> And it can be interpreted as an obligation to Internet
> designers to not prevent or hamper it being used in whatever
> languate one chooses. But if you intepret it as a positive right,
> i.e., that Internet should be provided to you ready-made in your
> own language, I ask: who should pay for it?

Indeed. Ask not only who should pay for it -- because it's easy to
volunteer someone else to pay for my benefits -- but ask also whether
making such a demand is the best way to get such content in one's own
language produced? Are there not more effective policy options? Is there
a danger that this kind of demand will act as a substitute for those
more effective options? 

(I should add that in some of these linguistic equality cases I would
actually opt for requiring people to pay for it. For example, if voting
is done by Internet in a multilingual society, or if an international
institution produces authoritative documents, then I think individuals
in major linguistic groups have a right to demand that ballots or
translations of laws/policies be made available to them. Even if it does
cost more. Because it affects the basic individual right to political
representation and voice, on which most other rights hinge. But there is
still some kind of a ALAWCAI clause in there, because no society can
cater to all of the very small linguistic groups that might exist)

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