Original Post
Please note that I no longer hold the opinions I express in this thread. In fact, I renounce and reject them. I'd like to think that I have a better outlook now, one which places talent, hard work, and creativity above petty politics. Apart from that I never had any right to dictate what other people should do with their intellectual property, or to criticize their choice of license; I apologize if I have offended anyone. Thank you. The Free Software Foundation states that for software to be free it must be compatible with the four cardinal freedoms: * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). * The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. Freedom 2 implies that a program's legitimite buyer has the right to distribute that program, to help his neiboughr. Free software is supposed to be free like free speach, but this freedom blurs the line between "Free like free speech" and "Free like free beer". Is there something wrong with being a good samaritan? No, of course not. If your neiboughr is a non-profit organization, you should be a good neiboughr. If your neiboughr is a student in a catch-22 situation of needing capital in order to learn how to earn capital, you should be a good neiboughr. If your neiboughr is an educational or research institution looking for new ways to improve our lives, you should be a good neiboughr. If your neiboughr is a cheap-ass mudda-focka who does not comprehend, nor appreciate, the value of freedom, you should not be a good neiboughr. If your neiboughr is a corporate parasite who wants to use your knowledge to further hold humanity captive, you should DEFINATELY NOT BE A GOOD NEIBOUGHR. A software engineer's time is valuable. Like all media, Software requires a considerable investment in time. Workers aren't paid because "Capitalism is evil boo hoo hoo" but because they should, by moral decree, be compensated for their time; Time they could have used to play with their children, enjoy the country-side, to relax, to get fit, and to better themselves, but which they instead used for our benefit. Workers, unlike corporate and social parasites, are the most valuable members of society. Capitalism is not evil, Corporate Socialism and greed are evil. It is a great tragedy of our time that we allowed the Ayn Rand peanut gallery to hijack the theories of Adam Smith to further support for greed and corporate socialism--That Ayn Rand idolized a child rapist and derogated mourners should be an indication of her mental stability. It is also a tragedy that we have lost touch of Adam Smith's social conciounse and his original intention in developing his theories--To prove that Mercantilism, a more in your face version of Corporate Socialism, was unworkable. What is Corporate Socialism? Corporate Socialism is the invasion of government by a corporation so that the government may work against the people, and the workers--Think of the numerous lobbyists in the American Political ecosystem. Corporate Socialism is the abuse of a Corporation's position as a monopoly so that it may further invade people's lives--Think DRM. Corporate Socialism is the invasion of public institutions, such as educational institutions, so that the corporation may unfairly invade the market, and control what people can learn--Think Adobe Photoshop. Corporate Socialism is the invasion of media and broadcasting, so that the corporation may choose what information the people should be exposed to, and thereby engineer our very existence--Do I really need to provide an example? Markets for products which detriment our lives are created all the time, think tabacco. News stations contradict each other all the time, so someone is definately trying to engineer something. Products which have real value are ignored all the time, and pure crap rakes in the biggest load of cash based purely on it's marketing campaign. How can we protect ourselves from Corporate Socialism? Education. Education is the anathema of Corporate Socialism. Learn, learn from everything you can learn from. Learn judiciously. Learn from school. Learn from your life. Open your mind, and think. Then inform, teach, and allow others to absorb and scrutinize your knowledge. Never stop growing as a person. If you have knowledge, share it. Stuck in your head as it is, your knowledge will do not do good to anyone, especially not you. Make media broadcasting cheap. Make it easily available. Make it so cheap and easily available that we rid ourselves of the myth that people on TV are Gods. We are already moving along this path, thanks in no small part to the internet. Free yourself of the illusion that people who are richer than you are somehow better than you. The richest people on Earth did not gain their wealth because they are smarter or stronger. They gained their wealth through fraud and Corporate Socialism, or worse, by inheriting it. No one gains that much wealth through natural means. If you want a graphics designer, ask for a graphics designer. Don't ask for someone who knows adobe photoshop. If you are a software developer, make your program cross-platform, so that people may use it wherever they like. Realize that a hierarchy is not neccesary for a company to operate. It is also not part and parcel of Capitalism. Worker's cooperatives are relatively succesful, and when workers are given dignity and a stake in the company their production is increased, the administritive costs are lowered, the pie is split more evenly, and ethical implications are more likely to be considered. Realize that there is NO INVISIBLE HAND. If we do not actively try to make our lives better, noone is going to make them better for us. But most importantly, realize that you are not defeating Corporate Socialism if you give away software for free, TO EVERYONE. You are simply hurting the worker. And you do not do people favors by giving away PIRATED software. You are simply increasing the market of proprietery software. Software isn't beer, it has more dignity. And no one deserves free software, unless they understand -why- it is free. Free, as in freedom. With free software, you have the freedom to learn how that software works--Just like a mechanic has the freedom to learn how a particular car works. You have the freedom to adapt that software to your needs. Just like how you would adapt any tool to your needs. Most importantly, with free software, you are given the freedom to use that software however you wish. There is no umbilical cord between you and the corporation, they cannot commit acts of Corporate Socialism against you. You are free to use parts of that free software in your own free software. You are free to modify that software however you like. And yes, you are free to redistribute it however you like. Freedom number 2 comes at a huge price. Because free software allows freedom of redistribution, you don't have to pay money to the workers for it, it is yours without price, wheater you deserve it or not. This freedom is fundamentally there so that the other freedoms may be excersized, and so that vital technology is not kept out of the hands of the people. Free software is there so that we have more opportunities in our lives, and so that the Corporate Socialists are kept on their toes. It's not there so you don't have to pay for Microsoft Word; It's not there to hurt the workers, who are being exploited by the Corporate Socialists. Capitalism can be used for good, it was meant to be used for good. So please, pay for your free software, and drop the "Free as in free beer" crap. You have no idea of how much the quality of our lives can be increased if we pay because we want to.. not because we have to. [Edited by - WazzatMan on May 19, 2010 3:01:56 PM]
