3 ms·

Stallman isn't quite right on a few points. For example, you can summon an Uber via SMS or a mobile site. No app or smartphone required. But let's address the

by chroma 12y ago

Stallman isn't quite right on a few points. For example, you can summon an Uber via SMS or a mobile site. No app or smartphone required. But let's address the core of his argument instead of nitpicking. Yes, Uber's behavior has been pretty unethical. They track customers and drivers. They mine their data to figure out who had one-night stands. They shirk regulations so they can expand quickly. But all of those points are moot for one reason: Uber is incredibly convenient. People rarely sacrifice quality of life for their ideals. If you want to sink Uber, the activism route is not effective. The only way to win is to make a more compelling product. If your open source, non-tracking version is worse than Uber, only the tiny population of die-hard idealists will use it. I don't think RMS understands this, since he is one of the die-hard idealists.

smacktoward 12y ago
> If you want to sink Uber, the activism route is not effective. "If you want to sink Big Tobacco, the activism route is not effective." "If you want to sink child labor, the activism route is not effective." "If you want to sink slavery, the activism route is not effective." &etc. Your fatalism is unwarranted. There's plenty of examples in history of people making real, substantial change in society via activism. Moreover, some problems can only be solved via activism. If Uber's tracking yields an economic advantage, and you consider that tracking to be a moral/ethical problem, then it's a problem you can't fix with "a better product" because a company that doesn't follow Uber's lead won't be economically competitive. It will be leaving money on the table that Uber does not. The only way out of the trap is for the problematic behavior to be off limits to everybody.
- chroma 12y ago
  RMS isn't calling for Uber to be outlawed. He's calling for a boycott. I'm glad the problems you listed are much smaller than they used to be, but none of them were solved with grassroots boycotts. Many of them went away due to changes in economic conditions and an expanding moral sphere. And I was being realistic, not fatalistic. There are countless examples of people engaging in immoral behavior for better quality of life. Here are a few: - Eating meat. It's bad for the environment, not-that-great for one's health, and visits immense suffering upon animals. But bacon tastes good, so people rationalize their behavior. - Driving a gas car. It pollutes the environment, aids immoral regimes such as Saudi Arabia, and contributes to climate change. But again, they're so convenient. Except for Tesla, electric cars are slow, small, and short range. The reason Tesla is an exception is because Elon Musk recognizes that, in order to be successful, electric cars must be better than gas cars. - Pirating content. Piracy deprives artists of income and violates the principles of contract law. If you don't like the cost or terms, then don't consume the content. - Not conserving resources (electricity, water, etc). Some individuals do some of these things, but never civilization as a whole. At the macro scale, this sort of activism is a rounding error.

by chroma 12y ago

smacktoward 12y ago

> If you want to sink Uber, the activism route is not effective. "If you want to sink Big Tobacco, the activism route is not effective." "If you want to sink child labor, the activism route is not effective." "If you want to sink slavery, the activism route is not effective." &etc. Your fatalism is unwarranted. There's plenty of examples in history of people making real, substantial change in society via activism. Moreover, some problems can only be solved via activism. If Uber's tracking yields an economic advantage, and you consider that tracking to be a moral/ethical problem, then it's a problem you can't fix with "a better product" because a company that doesn't follow Uber's lead won't be economically competitive. It will be leaving money on the table that Uber does not. The only way out of the trap is for the problematic behavior to be off limits to everybody.

chroma 12y ago
RMS isn't calling for Uber to be outlawed. He's calling for a boycott. I'm glad the problems you listed are much smaller than they used to be, but none of them were solved with grassroots boycotts. Many of them went away due to changes in economic conditions and an expanding moral sphere. And I was being realistic, not fatalistic. There are countless examples of people engaging in immoral behavior for better quality of life. Here are a few: - Eating meat. It's bad for the environment, not-that-great for one's health, and visits immense suffering upon animals. But bacon tastes good, so people rationalize their behavior. - Driving a gas car. It pollutes the environment, aids immoral regimes such as Saudi Arabia, and contributes to climate change. But again, they're so convenient. Except for Tesla, electric cars are slow, small, and short range. The reason Tesla is an exception is because Elon Musk recognizes that, in order to be successful, electric cars must be better than gas cars. - Pirating content. Piracy deprives artists of income and violates the principles of contract law. If you don't like the cost or terms, then don't consume the content. - Not conserving resources (electricity, water, etc). Some individuals do some of these things, but never civilization as a whole. At the macro scale, this sort of activism is a rounding error.