16:29:00.645
▶▶
“ The US in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s was a capitalist country. This meant that the government tried to organize society for the benefit of all […] and regulated business so it would not trample the public good. Within those rules, everyone could do business. I am in favor of capitalism. Today’s US has been overcome by extreme capitalism, whose basic idea is that society exists for the rich and government’s highest priority should be to help them get richer. This is why most Americans’ lives are so difficult. The system of extreme capitalism also imposes terrible suffering on other countries — Iraq and Colombia, to name two. I am completely against extreme capitalism. It is ironic that proprietary software developers call us “Communist” because when you look at actual practices, they are the ones who impose on the users a system more like the Soviet command economy. […] Most proprietary software developers don’t respect private property, either. They say that “your” copy is not your property. It’s supposed to be “their” property, and you can only use it under license. In other words, their idea of “private property” is that everything belongs to them. By contrast, your copy of a free program really is your property, and you can use it freely as long as you respect the freedom of others.
— Dr. Richard Stallman in an HL Interview
Comments (View)
