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What’s more is that the author is wrong. Free Software is libertarianism, not communism. “Free” refers to the freedom to modify the software, the liberty of on

What’s more is that the author is wrong. Free Software is libertarianism, not communism. “Free” refers to the freedom to modify the software, the liberty of one person to (legally) do whatever they want with the thing they own. Common ownership, or community control of means of production has nothing to do with Free Software. Nobody owns free software and nobody controls it.

fmajid 5y ago
More precisely anarchism. The ethos of Stallman is completely at odds with that of libertarians.
- mixedmath 5y ago
  Could you expand on how the ethos of Stallman is at odds with libertarianism a bit more?
  - southerntofu 5y ago
    I think the parent refers to different cultural understandings of "libertarianism". In most of the world, libertarian ideology is anarcho-communism whereas in the USA (and in the startup world globally) libertarian designates so-called "anarcho-capitalism". There is some ideological overlap as both branches advocate against centralized powers. The key difference is in regards to private property: the idea that something can be owned by someone who does not make use of it (i.e. not a personal possession such as your residence) is denounced by anarchists as a way to deprive people/communities from their resources for the profits of a few ("property is theft") whereas libertarians consider that a "natural right". Still, as Noam Chomsky (and others) pointed out, the anarcho-capitalist clique from Silicon Valley always relied on major grants from the State and how you would prevent the people from accessing the resources they produced because they're "owned" by someone else without central powers remains a mystery. Libertarians are well-known for dreaming of employing people to work for them and amassing wealth, but i have yet to meet a libertarian who wants to be the lowly exploited worker. Meanwhile in the anarchist world, we abide by the principles of "from each according to their capabilities, to each according to their needs". Gathering consent and sharing tasks is notably easier when we're doing it for ourselves and not for the profit of someone else.

fmajid 5y ago

More precisely anarchism. The ethos of Stallman is completely at odds with that of libertarians.

mixedmath 5y ago
Could you expand on how the ethos of Stallman is at odds with libertarianism a bit more?
- southerntofu 5y ago
  I think the parent refers to different cultural understandings of "libertarianism". In most of the world, libertarian ideology is anarcho-communism whereas in the USA (and in the startup world globally) libertarian designates so-called "anarcho-capitalism". There is some ideological overlap as both branches advocate against centralized powers. The key difference is in regards to private property: the idea that something can be owned by someone who does not make use of it (i.e. not a personal possession such as your residence) is denounced by anarchists as a way to deprive people/communities from their resources for the profits of a few ("property is theft") whereas libertarians consider that a "natural right". Still, as Noam Chomsky (and others) pointed out, the anarcho-capitalist clique from Silicon Valley always relied on major grants from the State and how you would prevent the people from accessing the resources they produced because they're "owned" by someone else without central powers remains a mystery. Libertarians are well-known for dreaming of employing people to work for them and amassing wealth, but i have yet to meet a libertarian who wants to be the lowly exploited worker. Meanwhile in the anarchist world, we abide by the principles of "from each according to their capabilities, to each according to their needs". Gathering consent and sharing tasks is notably easier when we're doing it for ourselves and not for the profit of someone else.