this post was submitted on 07 May 2024
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People don't mention it much but I think it's actually the most powerful thing about Linux (and open source more broadly) that it's free to use. It doesn't matter if you're down on your luck, were born in a poor nation through no fault of your own, or are working class and getting crushed by the capitalist economy. It's a leveller and, in my view, represents power, resilience and dignity in solidarity. It's literally one of the few important things left in the world that we have like that.
Free cost and free as in freedom to understand and modify the code. I also think it's a beautiful way of doing things. We also have Wikipedia and Openstreetmap. The internet has a tremendous potential for collaboration, people doing things because they want to, for the benefit of everyone.
I totally agree! I wish I could contribute more to these things that I use, but it also (and maybe more importantly) makes me want to be more free and generous with all the things I can do. Looking at how most things are today, superficially it seems far-fetched to imagine economies of generosity but actually I think it's got a lot of power to perpetuate itself.