Santa Clara Law Professor David D. Friedman, author of a number of books including Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life, has recently published a new book, Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World, that was inspired by his teaching at Santa Clara Law.
"This book grew out of a seminar on future technologies that I taught for a number of years at the law school of Santa Clara University," writes Friedman in the introduction to the book. "Each Thursday we discussed a technology that I was willing to argue, at least for a week, could revolutionize the world. On Sunday, students emailed me legal issues that that revolution would raise, to be put on the class web page for other students to read. Tuesday, we discussed the issues and how to deal with them. Next Thursday a new technology and a new revolution."
Friedman has received substantial media attention surrounding the publication of the book, including reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle, and an appearance at Google’s Mountain View headquarters in September as part of the Authors @ Google series.
"David Friedman is a marvelous example of the kinds of teaching scholars we have at Santa Clara Law," says Santa Clara Law Dean Donald Polden. "His highly regarded work on technology and freedom is provocative and timely. David’s contributions to the literature in these areas is pushing the boundaries of contemporary thinking, both by our students and by the leading futurists in the world."
DAVID D. FRIEDMAN is Professor of Law at Santa Clara Law. After earning a Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of Chicago, he switched fields to economics and taught at Virginia Polytechnic University, the University of California at Irvine, the University of California at Los Angeles, Tulane University, the University of Chicago, and Santa Clara University. A professional interest in the economic analysis of law led to positions at the law schools of the University of Chicago and Cornell and thereafter to his present position, where he developed the course on legal issues of the twenty-first century that led to his writing Future Imperfect. His first book, The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to aRadical Capitalism, was published in 1973, remains in print, and is considered a libertarian classic. He is also the author of Price Theory: An Intermediate Text (1986), Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life (1996), and Law’s Order: AnEconomic Account (2000). His first work of fiction, Harald, was published in 2006. Friedman’s scientific interest in the future is long-standing. The Cypherpunks, an online group responsible for much early thinking about the implications of encryption, included The Machinery of Freedom on their list of recommended readings. Friedman’s web page, www.daviddfriedman.com, averages more than 3,000 visitors a day and his blog, Ideas, at http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com receives about 400 daily visits.
MORE INFORMATION
- Friedman at GoogleAuthors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8talvLDfow
- San Francisco Chronicle article on Friedman: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/29/BUDO12VA1F.DTL&hw=david+friedman&sn=001&sc=1000
- David Friedman’s faculty page: http://law.scu.edu/faculty/profile/friedman-david.cfm
- David Freidman’s blog: http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com
- David’ Friedman’s web site: http://daviddfriedman.com/
- The complete Future Imperfect online: www.daviddfriedman.com/Future_Imperfect.html
ABOUT SANTA CLARA LAW
Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1912 on the site of California ‘s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; a combined J.D./MBA degree; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for its top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see law.scu.edu
