[AktiviX] The Free software mode of production

[Space Bunny]

Nick Hill wrote:

>>> *12.00 Open source revolutionaries (Provisional)**
>>
>
> The open source philosophy is apolitical and does not aim to be 
> revolutionary. It simply aims at the software being used by more people.
>
> The free software philosophy is revolutionary. It aims to increase the 
> amount of freedom. Free as in Libre, not as in beer. 


I often call Open Source the Leninism of free software that aims to sell 
the idea of free software to businesses as way to modernise things. 
There are cries of "lets all work together" and idea of freedom is lost 
in the struggle to overthrow the Tsar ( MicroSoft ) .

Is this 1905? where soviets ( co-operative software projects) have 
sprung up beyond all hopes without any prediction from those with the 
theory. Will the opportunists who are quick to understand the new terain 
and cry out the right slogans win.  Will the software production just 
become more efficent and a tool to increase work displine as wage labour 
remains and our tasks turned against us?

It is a battle for vision and motivation as well as techniques.

Capitalism has often co-opted the techniques of revolutionaries, and 
often make them function better, as it commands resources.


Anyway I may expand my explaination of anology later. It sort of depends 
on one sharing my anaysis of the Russian Revolution as a capitalist 
revolution to modernise russia that was co-opted from a prolitarian one. 
I guess the anology illuminates both ways.

> It is unfortunate the event has been called 'Open Source'. I am sure 
> this is a mistake. 'Free Software Revolutionaries' sounds far more 
> plausible. 

well as I noted this too when I saw it I am glad you point this out.

The interview at:
http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors0/mertentext.html

mentions this issue of how '*leftist intelligentsia has begun to use 
"Open Source" as a cause to promote without realizing the pro-capitalist 
connotations behind the term', check out the interview, worth a read.


My local LUG list has turned from it normal load of technical querries 
to a (often confused) debate over the name of the whole GNU/Linux system 
which many are insisting is just Linux.

http://www.edlug.ed.ac.uk/archive/Oct2003/

this was prompted by possiblity of R Stallman visiting Edinburgh  which 
will now happen later, but** on Saturday the 25th of October at 12 p.m. 
Richard Stallman will give a lecture about Software Patents in the 
Stoddart building at Sheffield Hallam University.

btw Nick I should refactor what you replied to Peter George ( of EdLUG 
)  questioning the GNU/Linux name and put it on the EdLUG list.
*
*cheers,

Space Bunny
http://j12.org/sb/freesoft.htm
http://ourmayday.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Free_Software
*