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> It pains me to say it but he is a Luddite. A Luddite would argue that the technology (NB: not the implementation or design but the very concept) takes someth
by jancsika 7y ago
> It pains me to say it but he is a Luddite.
A Luddite would argue that the technology (NB: not the implementation or design but the very concept) takes something away from quality, morality, and/or spirituality of life. Thus, Luddite Stallman would refuse any help from anyone using any kind of handheld communication device including walkie talkies, free software laptops over wireless access points, etc.
Stallman is instead a surprisingly pragmatic free software advocate. He ignores software which runs as if it were low-level hardware circuitry (and says very little about hardware since it can't be produced with anything near zero marginal cost). Plus he qualifies his stance against cellphones as a symbolic stance against mass surveillance.
I don't see any difference between that symbolic stance and, say, a celebrity who tries to have a zero-carbon footprint in their abode. The inconvenience in cost is obviously in service of the benefit of raising awareness, which he does every time he's asked about how he gets around in the world without a cellphone. Not everyone gets royalties from TV drama to pay for a fancy house and not everyone can outsource their schedule to friends aren't serious criticisms of symbolic stances.
Edit: WRT pragmatism-- I'll be interested to see if FSF approve the Purism Phone. It's got a proprietary baseband OS but that can be turned off...
- notyourday 7y agoLuddites were not against the technology. They were against a specific kind technology that in their view harmed them and a society in whole. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-rea...
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIn this sense, calling Stallman a Luddite is a compliment and recognition of the validity of his point of view. Luddites rose up against the abusive practices of businesses which happened to involve new technology. Similarly, FSF is warning about abusive practices of today's businesses involving technology.
- notyourday 7y agoLuddites also lost. We use the tech they rallied against and they are gone. And we are also better for it than we were before that tech was actively used.
- jancsika 7y agoWhy are you trying to coerce the commonly accepted meaning of Luddite back into the original historical meaning? If the OP were for some reason referring to the original meaning, why would OP have prefaced it with "it pains me to say this, but?" Comparing Stallman to people who objected to particular technologies on moral grounds would be mundane and not require an apology.
- notyourday 7y agoI am the OP. It pains me to say that RMS is a Luddite. In a correct, historical meaning of the word -- to him technology should go a specific way. Just like it was to Luddites. Society disagreed. Just like it disagreed with Luddites. Luddites were loud ( in the context of those that listened to them ). He is loud ( in the context of those who listen to him). Luddites were wrong, largely because they just picked a hill to die on and they died on that hill. He is going to end up the same way. And it pains me to say that.