Marcelo Thompson

In “The Neutralization of Harmony” (forthcoming in the Boston University Journal of Science and Technology Law), I question the very idea of neutrality in technology law and politics.

Technological neutrality has been resorted to before the World Trade Organization by a number of Western countries, in particular the United States, as a means of preventing China from carrying out specific regulatory initiatives for its territorial Internet.

The paper, which you can download here, discusses such an attempt, in the light of a much wider normative inquiry.

It claims that technological neutrality is incompatible with the dominant politico-philosophical traditions of our time: the Liberal and the Confucian.

And it argues that the idea of neutrality ultimately undermines any attempts of reconciling both traditions.

Any comments, suggestions and criticisms are most welcome.