Wikipedia’s Libertarian Roots

In a profile in the libertarian magazine Reason, the founder of Wikipedia explains how and why he launched the controversial site in order “to make the Internet not suck.” Turns out the plan is much bigger than just building a better encyclopedia and is based on the ideas of libertarian economist F.A. Hayek.

“Encyclopedias aren’t the only places to gather knowledge, and by making tools available to create other kinds of collaborative communities, [Jimmy] Wales is fleshing out and bringing to life Hayek’s insights about the power of decentralized knowledge gathering, the surprising strength of communities bound only by reputation, and the fluidity of self-governance.”

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