lex naturalis - txwikinger's blog Free Software - Law - Politics

I finally decided to join the community of bloggers, despite my resistance to it. In a world, where more people speak than listen, in which more opinions about any topic exist than political parties, it seems rather pretentious to think that a lonely voice could have a place.

Why did I join the multitudes of bloggers under these circumstances? I asked myself, what I would have to say. When I look around, I find that I might have a lot to say, maybe even some things that others would enjoy listening to.

My early career lead me into the scientific and technical world. I studied Computer Science, and worked in Telecom. One of the perks of working in the world of Telecom is the opportunity to travel around the world. Somehow, an oxymoron, should Telecom not reduce the necessity to extensively travel around the world? Apparently nobody told the Telecom world yet :)

I also had the opportunity to leave "Old Europe" and live on the "New Continent". While I learned a lot of new perspectives to life, politics and diversity, I got more and more dissatisfied by the never ending ignorance in the technical and business world. I started to get more interested in politics and the legal systems in the different countries and the world. Amazingly, this lead also to an opportunity to study and receive a law degree.

In my opinion, one of the most amazing aspects of the legal and political world is the never ending debate of the origin of our laws. I find that best described in the competing principles of lex naturalis and ius positivum as it was often phrased by St. Thomas Aquinas. While most of the laws, we are confronted with, are man-made (ergo ius humanum or ius positivum), evidence can be found that it might not be so positive if all law would depend on the acceptance by man in the form of governments. The possibility of acceptance means there also can be rejection. However, is it really in the authority of a government to deny fundamental civil and human rights to any person in their jurisdiction? Or do in fact laws exist in form of natural law (lex naturalis) which prevail independently from their acknowledgement of a government or the majority of citizens in a particular country.

Looking around, I see that as more the world changes, as more everything seem to stay the same. Half a century after the the civil rights movement in the USA, more than 52 years after a lonely woman named Rosa Parks defied authorities about injustices by man and refused to leave a seat in a public bus, which was denied to her solely because of her skin colour, the political discussions for the next presidential election in the US seem to be more obsessed with the ethnic origin and gender of the candidates than with the issues that are relevant to the majority of citizens in the USA or even in the world. These are the effects of ius positivum and the consequent denial of lex naturalis to all its citizens.

Despite the changes in the man-made laws, I personally know people that are daily discriminated just because of their ethnicity or national origin, gender, age or disability. It seems, nothing has changed to the times of Rosa Parks "disobedience". Still today, when one legitimately raises the issue of racial discrimination, the reaction is further victimisation and retaliation. Again a violation of lex naturalis, in this case even of the statutory laws of the country.

Similarly, the dominance of one corporation in the software world creates violations against natural law. Can it be really acceptable that this corporation is paid for computers sold to consumers even if they never intend to use any of their products? Or is it acceptable that governments and businesses more and more intrude in our rights of self-determination in regard of the usage of private information, our identities in form of bio-metrical data and even genetic make-up? Is it not right, that the lex naturalis is under a daily attack by the ius positivum, or its unlawful implementations?

While I hope to participate in the dissemination of positive news in the field of Open Source, I also believe, that it is time that more voices are talking about these absolute essential issues in life. And I strive that my blog will be one little fraction in the stream of voices that will come up more and more about those issues. Our technology, and our spirit in the Open Source community lends itself to come out of the trenches and to take a stand for lex naturalis as we take a stand for free software.