Throwing the IP Baby Out with the Rentist Bathwater  There is
much of interest in left political economy, and this essay by
Peter Frase is a real classic in the genre. It’s a model of
conceptual clarity and presents very big ideas in an accessible
way. Nevertheless, I found these paragraphs a bit hard to
swallow:    I can understand arguments for a guaranteed minimum
income, especially as automation erases jobs faster than workers
can train for new ones, and virtual work flattens the global
labor market. However, I would hope to see a future where human
needs beyond subsistence can be met. In that future,
intellectual contributions to IP–be it patentable,
copyrightable, or the network of associations, goodwill, and
quality assurance known as trademark–would be valued, and
outstanding contributions could lead to larger than average
claims on whatever social surplus existed. Finally, left
political economists should value the implicit industrial policy
in certain IP regimes, which channel labor toward productiv