October 14, 2008
The Economy of Fun
On Practical Ethics in the News I blog about Protectionist deities vs. the economy of fun: ownership of virtual possessions. Do we have a moral right to our virtual possessions in online games? As I see it, of course we have such rights, both from a classical liberal and from a leftist perspective. It is all about ensuring the maximum production of fun.
The interesting thing with this moral case is that it does not imply that ownership has to follow the usual rules: there is potential for very different in-game ownership systems as long as they contribute to the game experience. It is simplest to use rules similar to the outside society since we are familiar with them, but they could work in very different ways. Something which will make taxation of online property interesting - "sorry, but that mountain is the joint property of our dwarven line-marriage".