[AktiviX] Open source and anarchism: What can anarchists learn from the Free Software movement?

[Alan Dawson]

Quoting "j.martin.pedersen" <mp at fsc.cc>: 
 
 
>  
> > 2. The model (whatever you want to call it) of a typical free software 
> project 
> > is quite restricted to just software production and doesn't apply to 
> wealth-sharing, 
> > decision making about other things, 
>  
> any idea, by way of structural analogy, can berelated to any domain of 
> ideas, and there is certainly an emerging body og morphogenetic 
> occurrrences to testify to the opposite of what you are saying. 
>  
 
There may be many contributers to a Software project, but only a few commit to 
CVS, though all have the freedom to fork. Though being free to fork does not 
mean one can actually produce code if you don't have the skills in 
programming. 
 
Does Software Production not valorise the roles "coder" or "kernel hacker" 
above all others ? 
 
 
> You can try to prove them wrong with analysis, but ideas never did pay 
> much attention to the supposed/imposed illusion of the one and only 
> Truth when people see in them liberatory and emancipatory aspects. It is 
> in the eye of the beholder - just because you can't see it, doesn't mean 
> that it isn't there. 
>  
 
 
Surely Software is a tool and as such its value is in how it is used.  A 
hammer can repair houses or build warships.  Having access to the internals of 
hammer production certainly enables those with enough interest to make them 
better suited to ones own needs rather than others perceptions of those needs 
( or rather others wishes to force new needs). 
 
Unfortunately future cycles of capital will show free software as the 
superstructure foam it really is.  What use will be your forked project when 
you cannot get it digitally signed  by IntelSoftAMD to run on your palladium 
10gHz Sexium? 
 
Rather than Anarchists learning from Open Source, coders need to learn from 
anarchists the best methods to resist capitals pull to the centre if they wish 
to maintain their freedoms. 
 
AED 
--  
"Ideas improve. The meaning of words participates in the improvement.  
Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it. It embraces an author's phrase,  
makes use of his expressions, erases a false idea, and replaces it with the  
right idea. " 

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