To gain some perspective on the debate about Internet neutrality, we would do well to consult John Milton and John Locke. The Federal Communications Commission is considering the creation of a fast broadband lane that would permit companies like Netflix to purchase more-rapid delivery from Internet-service providers like Verizon. The defenders of net neutrality oppose that proposal and invoke ideals expressed in manifestoes such as the “Digital Declaration of Independence”: “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that every human has an equal and unalienable right to the means to create, distribute, and consume information. …”

Milton and Locke participated in debates at an even more crucial stage in the evolution of information systems—the 17th century, when English authorities were trying to regulate the power of print.

We celebrate both men as champions in the long-term struggle for freedom of the press. They knew, however, that the world of print could not be reduced to the opposition between liberty and oppression. They understood it as a complex information system, driven in large part by economic interests and threatened by commercial monopolies.