I’m going to be writing some articles on Free software and media to hopefully get published. I was wondering if people in the Chicago GNU/Linux Users Group, or other Free software lovers who find this, could give me their ideas regarding Free software and socialism (Marxist not Euro-style). Or opposted views, comparing Free software and media to liberatiarianism or individual anarchism.
I don’t see how Free Software relates to labor unions conglomerating and overpowering the government. It relates mostly, as I see it, to “anarchism”, or “libertarian socialism”. That is, the voluntary contributions of individuals for little to no personal gain, but rather for the purpose of creating something that benefits many others.
As a libertarian capitalist, seeing Linux work, at *all*, was a real eye-opener. It told me that under certain circumstances, a collaborative effort can be effective. And further, when they do work, they have some great advantages. However, these are still rather limited circumstances. If we could find a way to fit all of production under these circumstances, we might have the communist utopia you dream about every night. And I’m open, though of course extremely skeptical, to the possibility.
However, so far, to me, it seems that the best way to go about things is to abandon the dogma of self-interest, and the dogma of group-interest. We should accept that as humans, we naturally care and depend on ourselves, and we naturally care for and depend on others.
If we can get past self-interest to work communally, and eliminate the overhead of competition, *and it works*, great. But as I said before, the circumstances are limited. You have to *experiment*. You have to treat this scientifically, not religiously. Linux is starting to win not because Stallman has an iron fist, but because his little experiment worked. If you try to change the economy by decree, you will end up in *disaster*. This is why I strongly oppose Marxism, and even to a certain extent libertarian socialism (to the extent that they believe in revolution instead of experimentation), and why I also believe that Free Software has much more relevance to libertarian socialism than to Marxism.
Wow this went on way longer than initially intended.
Dan,
You make some good points. I believe the best way to take it is to take it scientifically, but I do not believe that science is non-revolutionary. On the contrary, science embraces revolution. I would love to hear your take on this.
Also, I don’t follow: “why I also believe that Free Software has much more relevance to libertarian socialism than to Marxism.” Could you explain this a little more?
Thanks.