On Sat, 19 Jan 2002, Ira Abramov wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Jan 2002, Shlomi Fish wrote:
>
> > > Good! Linux-il is not just about bits, we're also about ideals and
> > > socialism :)
> >
> > I'd like to disagree with you here that there's anything Socialist about
> > OSS.
> >
> > 2. A good and proper way to manage software for the general profit of the
> > public.
>
> thanks for the contradiction. can I have the honor of ridiculing you in
> public next time we meet? ;-)
>
Before you do so, you should remember that there is no contradiction.
Doing something for the general profit of the public does not
automagically means it's Socialism. By definition a moral action is
defined as one that benefits the individual and society. Usually, there's
no contradiction between the two. I'll give you a few examples:
1. Making an OSS - one works on a piece of software, and puts it on the
Net for everyone to download. He is not encumbered because the software's
bit bucket is transferred digitally without him having to pay for it.
OTOH, he gains important experience, input, fame, etc.
The public benefits because he now has access to a program which he did
not previously had.
2. Making a commercial software - naturally the vendor benefits because he
sells the software and earns money from it. (assuming he is indeed
successful). But the public also gains. Each individual can now buy for
$50, or $100 or $500 or whatever, what would have costed him hundreds of
thousands, if not millions of dollars to develop himself.
The choice between these two options is left to the one who develops the
software. There is no way to rule that OSS is moral and commercial
software is illegitimate (or vice versa), because both benefit society
and the individual who produces them.
That was "Objectivism applied to the software world today" on one leg.
Regards,
Shlomi Fish
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shlomi Fish [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Home Page: http://t2.technion.ac.il/~shlomif/
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"Let's suppose you have a table with 2^n cups..."
"Wait a second - is n a natural number?"
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