[lbo-talk] Re: Purer Than Thou

Tayssir John Gabbour tayssir.john at googlemail.com
Tue Jan 23 16:45:58 PST 2007


On 1/24/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> That's not a bad thing,
> of course; throwing off the chains of commodification and
> exploitation are always admirable. But software producers often
> assume a level of interest in drilling deep into things among the
> broad public that may not exist.

Stallman opines that he has mild autism. (Perhaps think of him like Zizek, but without the neurotic misanthropy which apparently comes from having to behave conventionally.) Stallman will sharply correct his introducers, and yawn and pass gas during his own talks. And that autism gives him the focus to fight every day, to keep on message. Not to mention he's very nuanced and honest.

He even (permanently?) damaged his wrists coding Free Software like a madman.

So yeah, he sounds unreal sometimes, like Bill Gates sometimes does. Yet he's effective. Why not give him leeway and translate Stallman-speak to your prefered language?


> I'm not convinced that the free software
> thing is really that serious an alternative economic model - it
> involves lots of free riding on the resources of parents and
> employers, no? - how, can the free exchange of code deal with a world
> where we still have to use cash money to eat and secure shelter?

As far as I can tell, this argument reduces to the obvious observation that the US economy doesn't seriously compensate for producers working outside the system.

Well, isn't that the whole issue?

Planned economies have historically been employed to avoid the free rider problem. People like Bill Gates Sr. will tell you all about how "the individual wealth which is generated in this economy is, in my judgment, and I doubt that there is much that anyone could disagree with about this, is a function of the innovative businesses which are created as a result of federal research."


> By the way, it seems to me that the biggest enthusiasts for this sort
> of thing are software producers, not users.

Corporations are great enthusiasts too, like Google. Because they're rational, and will coopt what they can't beat. I learn many lessons from corps which I don't learn from the left.

Corporations won't just sell you enough rope to hang them, but also the "countercultural" Che t-shirt you're wearing while waiting in line.

Tayssir



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