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I haven't seen any evidence that people here are "pro-piracy" but concerning your first paragraph I'll argue one reason for why many software developers may not

by tgflynn 16y ago

I haven't seen any evidence that people here are "pro-piracy" but concerning your first paragraph I'll argue one reason for why many software developers may not be terribly thrilled with the current notion of "intellectual property". The majority of software developers are employees of corporations. As such they typically receive only a small fraction of the economic benefit derived from the value they create. The current economic system simply does not allocate benefits proportionally to created value. This fact will worsen as technology continues to increase the efficiency of labor. By the 20's millions of people will be losing their jobs to automation (probably not programmers, that will take a few more decades) and labor, the primary mechanism society has for distributing wealth, will essentially cease to exist. I don't know what will happen at that point but it is clear to me that the current system is unsustainable.

BrentRitterbeck 16y ago
The majority of software developers are employees of corporations. As such they typically receive only a small fraction of the economic benefit derived from the value they create. If I choose to work for myself, then usually I am accepting a much higher degree of risk. Maybe I am developing a new product, and I don't have a portfolio of other products to fall back on should my idea fail. Maybe my business is too small to take advantage of certain economies of scale. If I choose to work for a corporation, there is a good chance that the two risks above, and many of the risks you may come up with, have been mitigated to some extent. Also, chances are I probably work in a large team. So the economic benefit is divided among more people. Furthermore, the mitigated risks warrant less return. It's all about the trade-offs that economics so wonderfully covers. I have to disagree with your statement.
- tgflynn 16y ago
  Sure there are trade-offs but it's very difficult to quantify how much you're giving up and how much you're getting in return. A corporate developer is constantly building up the IP portfolio of his company, but how good an idea does he have of the long-term value of his contributions ? If you knew that the value to the company of your work was 10x your salary would you still want to accept the trade-off or would you start looking for other options ?

by tgflynn 16y ago

BrentRitterbeck 16y ago

The majority of software developers are employees of corporations. As such they typically receive only a small fraction of the economic benefit derived from the value they create. If I choose to work for myself, then usually I am accepting a much higher degree of risk. Maybe I am developing a new product, and I don't have a portfolio of other products to fall back on should my idea fail. Maybe my business is too small to take advantage of certain economies of scale. If I choose to work for a corporation, there is a good chance that the two risks above, and many of the risks you may come up with, have been mitigated to some extent. Also, chances are I probably work in a large team. So the economic benefit is divided among more people. Furthermore, the mitigated risks warrant less return. It's all about the trade-offs that economics so wonderfully covers. I have to disagree with your statement.

tgflynn 16y ago
Sure there are trade-offs but it's very difficult to quantify how much you're giving up and how much you're getting in return. A corporate developer is constantly building up the IP portfolio of his company, but how good an idea does he have of the long-term value of his contributions ? If you knew that the value to the company of your work was 10x your salary would you still want to accept the trade-off or would you start looking for other options ?