Politics & Power Quote by Lawrence Lessig

Lessig lands the punch by treating “expiration” as a fairy tale we tell ourselves about intellectual property. Copyright, in theory, is a limited bargain: society grants a temporary monopoly so creators can profit, then the work returns to the public domain. His line yanks the mask off that civics-class story. If Congress can be “bought,” then the clock on copyright is less a neutral timer than a political dial, adjustable whenever powerful rights-holders feel the heat of an approaching deadline.

The specific intent is accusatory and strategic. Lessig isn’t arguing about a few extra years tacked onto Mickey Mouse; he’s indicting a system where the nominal rule (limited terms) is routinely overridden by the real rule (who can finance lobbying, campaigns, and influence). The phrase “free to be bought” is acid: it frames legislative freedom not as democratic independence but as market liquidity, a venue where public policy is tradable.

Subtextually, the quote links copyright expansion to a broader cynicism about governance. “Will not expire” reads like prophecy, but it’s really a warning: when law becomes a subscription service for incumbents, innovation and cultural memory get paywalled. The public domain shrinks, remix culture becomes legally precarious, and new creators face tolls to use the raw materials of art.

Context matters: Lessig’s career has been shaped by the late-1990s/early-2000s “copyright term extension” era and the internet’s collision with legacy media. He’s speaking from the fault line where digital abundance meets analog-era monopolies, arguing that the scarcity isn’t natural; it’s legislated, and it’s legislated for sale.