Re: [ox-en] Steven Weber * The Success of Open Source
- From: "Raoul" <raoulv club-internet.fr>
- Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 20:00:56 +0100
Hi Stefan, Hi all
Stefan wrote on December 13, 2006 7:51 AM
Subject: Re: [ox-en] Steven Weber * The Success of Open Source
I already quoted very much and I had to leave out at least *some*
pages to raise some appetite for the whole book ;-) . It's certainly
worth reading.
Thanks for the work you have done summarizing and commenting Steven Weber's
book 'The Success of Open Source". I haven't read the book, yet. I ordered
it. Your text certainly encourages to read it.
As far as I can see by the quotes you give, it really seems an interesting
book and -as you say- a "must-read" for people working on Oekonux's topics.
By studying in a systematic and analytical way the reasons for the success
of open source and by placing his study in a societal perspective, Weber
brings out deep and useful insights to glimpse what some aspects of a post
capitalist society -without market hierarchies and relationships- could be.
Even if this is not supposed to be the aim of the book
I had a look at Google to know who Steven Weber is. I was amazed to read
that he "actively consults with government agencies, private multinational
firms, and international non-governmental issues on foreign policy issues,
risk analysis, strategy, and forecasting."
[http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/faculty/Weber.html ]
The least one can say is that he is deeply immersed in the American
capitalist establishment. (See for example what he writes about the Iraq war
in his blog).
Two remarks about this:
-That shows that ideas seeing in FLOSS practices the possible basis of a
different social form of organization are not merely dreams of "idealistic
utopians".
- That recalls, to some extent, some young aristocrats of the XVIII century
opening their mind to the new ideas, becoming Freemasons for example, as an
expression of the new capitalist practices developing at that time.
BTW: Currently I'm reading Eric von Hippel's "Democratizing
Innovation". I'll also write a (shorter) review about this interesting
book which sheds some light on the Oekonux topics from another
perspective.
I hope you will ;-)
Raoul
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