Re: [ox-en] Re: Importance of price
- From: Stefan Seefeld <seefeld sympatico.ca>
- Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:40:10 -0500
Hi Gregers,
as I sense a fundamental misunderstanding building up, I'd like to
address this here (being one of those who have been talking in terms of
the developer / customer dichotomy lately).
Gregers Petersen wrote:
It is my point that free software differs fundamentaly from the category
of 'commodity' - it is a particular kind of 'cultural product', and such
'cultural products' CAN be part of market based transactions but this is
not the basic intention. Why is it not the basic intention? What is so
destinct about free software?
1. Free circulation!
2. Multiple ownership!
I fully agree. The point I was opposing was a highly simplistic
representation of Free Software as something that is done by people that
are privileged enough to a) have the required education to work on Free
Software and b) have the resources to do so, too (free time, most of
all). By no means did I mean to imply that developers would work only
for money, or in exchange for some other goods.
But repeatedly stating that people write Free Software Because They Can,
without asking why they can, is rather short-sighted, IMO.
Both of these aspect are opposing capitalist logic, and rules of the
market, which is based on highly controlled distribution and singular
ownership!
Careful: While you are certainly right in that the lack of ownership
makes Free Software transcendent the present economic reality, you also
must not underestimate capitalism. I find it rather fascinating to watch
in how many ways this system embraces Free Software, by discovering and
creating new markets around it ('secondary industries', in a sense).
The interesting question to me is how this conflict will evolve, and
shape both, the way Free Software gets created as well as the society as
a whole.
Best regards,
Stefan
--
...ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin...
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