3 ms·
I am not talking primarily about Stallman's free software work; have you ever read his political notes? It seems that he is very critical to capitalism (as a de
by js8 11y ago
I am not talking primarily about Stallman's free software work; have you ever read his political notes? It seems that he is very critical to capitalism (as a description of the existing economic system, contrary to free market, which describes - somewhat different - ideal). In fact he also seems to be critical about free market, in particular in environmental and social issues.
- quadrangle 11y agoRMS is a classic Green Party guy, explicitly. That is not the same as being anti-capitalist. And only idiots think that free markets don't have externalities, so RMS noting that there are environmental or social issues free markets fail to address is itself completely unremarkable. Anyone who denies those facts should be completely disregarded. Even the most staunch free market advocates who have any understanding of reality accept that externalities exist.
- st3v3r 11y agoUsually the staunch free market advocates don't want to do anything about those externalities, though. They accept that they exist, but that doesn't stop them from fighting whenever regulation or taxes come up as a way to fix those externalities.
- quadrangle 11y agoSure. There are idiots who deny/ignore externalities, and then there are intelligent dogmatic fundamentalists who prioritize their fundamentalist model regardless of ramifications.
- st3v3r 11y agoBeing critical of, and believing that those systems can better work for most people, rather than those at the top, isn't enough to make someone anti-capitalist.