Archive for May, 2000

A comparison of Marxist Communism and the Open Source Software movement

Thursday, May 18th, 2000

The open source software movement is becoming one of the most influential parts of the computing industry as well as a part of the U.S. stock market. Karl Marx made predictions about the progression of society and believed that communism would surpass capitalism as the next societal stage, and that a society based on communism would be more advanced than one based on capitalism. Every member of society would work for themselves and for every other member. He was far from correct in his predictions, and the reality of his system was far from the idyllic state he predicted. His ideas are still alive and have become present in a different medium. The computer industry and the Internet, is an unmediated, largely unrepressed universe for the transmission of ideas. Open Source Software provides Marx’s basic ideas the gratification they deserve
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