Re: a dumb query? pls humor me
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Thursday 01 March 2007 15:40, Paul Johnson <baloo@ursine.ca> was
heard to say:
> You realize that GNU and socialism have more in common than in
> difference, right?
False.
Socialist practices are ones of state concentration of power,
collective "ownership". Socialism is the government granted monopoly
for delivery of your local telephone wiring, your local electricity,
your local water, sewer, trash. Socialism is the government granted
monopoly that says you cannot draw three circles in a certain way, or
you can be punished by government as a proxy for Disney Corp.
Copyright and patent are _socialist_ institutions, because they are
monopoly grants backed by the coercive force of the state.
The distinction is _force_.
The GNU project and its F/OSS progeny are _voluntary_. Because they
are entirely voluntary, they cannot by definition be socialist. The
definition of voluntary sharing is called "cooperation",
not "socialism".
Because I have complete control over my own property, to use or not,
to distribute or not, to add to the works of others or not, F/OSS
embodies respect for private property.
Private property is the antithesis of "collective" ownership. It is
capitalism. It is no less capitalism because the "capital" goods are
not being valued in terms of money. Information and reputation are
just as valuable, maybe more so.
"A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right,
under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human
being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act
consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they
realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are
*not* libertarians, regardless of what they may claim."
-- author L. Neil Smith
Curt-
- --
September 11th, 2001
The proudest day for gun control and central
planning advocates in American history
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)
iQEVAwUBRedBhy9Y35yItIgBAQKTfgf/RSikbRsgv+iGmnhyFU+dWqP2pPViVTFA
+jSTaOfwRHvxGIe0+B8qFmkh/dCmZKtDIQ0ZYBjN7HTRh+Qf1cskPuusD67nRvrj
kX/nnIrRo0PU00HMNhqcJiCsRj+zSSpqlRGMc920RX9x1IHAFxCsGXGvsoFgU+a+
PZpba0BrKKz/72hR8+GXBCzZgQdBAa0pFxjhkPom9jQDKERADJMtDcwyA4w0Lcf+
0g9fsj9sKCxSgh2JSDauY5iaDzhqU+CaDs93/qvQ7546FXR30F/2kdxnmSDZKOMQ
wb2kIsCFXz6U2/ypqnGhSWJuJyxH3uQTeH36EK0erg9FebrqsJ+7LA==
=u5cL
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Reply to: