I am a layman, but it seems to me that the open source movement is definitely not a product of capitalism. I say this after having read a lot of threads recently about how capitalism has created more wealth/led to more development than any other system - and that we should be thankful for it.
Open source seems to me to be people innovating and creating around a common point of interest (eg. Bitcoin) , not for monetary gain, but because of that basic and essential element of humanity that sees a way forward/imagines a better way of being - and strives toward it. It seems to me a disparate movement that could better be described as being based on, for eg.,
Communitarianism - maybe even old school socialist (the means of production being in the hands of the people, and being utilised in the interests of the people)
I mean, the record companies tell us that artists need paying etc etc, and that filesharing stifles creativity. This seems to me self serving BS - if anything, taking big business out of culture (and its creation) might actually promote
real culture and take us back to something like
this, where within the creative process we are "prosumers" (to use a buzzword) rather than passive consumers getting fleeced. Flamenco was traditionally a community "happening" - a participatory creative event. Until "capitalists" realised they could make a few quid off the back of it - and getting people to pay to watch "stars" on a stage. The
Star System etc.
I suppose my question is - is capitalism really the source of all things good ? And where does the Open Source movement, and so by implication Bitcoin, fit into the theory that it is ?
