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To: Halfmanhalfamazing
In my experience - I spend more time each day in Linux and Open Source than I do freeping (just barely more time ;) - Linux is almost the diametric opposite of Communism.

Communism replaces individual responsibility with "rights of the people", replaces reliance on self initiative with dependence on the state, and replaces the economics of "you get what you work for" with the economics of "from each according to their ability, to the leaders according to their greed."

Linux work depends very much on the skill, initiative and integrity of the individuals. We each gain the respect and authority that we deserve, depending on the value of our work. We each have final control over how, when and in what manner we participate. No one, not even the King Penguin Linus Torvalds, gets a free pass.

Information, honesty, and integrity are wide spread; spin doctoring, misinformation, lies, deceit, beauracracy and abuse of power are minimal.

The monetary pay is indirect - one usually needs to find a company that is desparate enough for some of the commercial and technology benefits of participating in Linux to pay your salary to work in Linux related areas that are also of benefit to that company.

But the pay that drives the real energy and focus is not so much money, once one has a reasonable amount of income. Rather it is the same thrill as drives the Pajamadeen (freepers in pajamas) and many other interests, the thrill of doing neat stuff for valuable ends that few others can do, of making an essential and valuable contribution to ones "community", and of "living" in a community of neat and diverse people that one finds worthy of ones energy and a pleasure to be around.

Equating Linux or Open Source (GPL license) work with communism because of apparent similarity in the monetary arrangements is utterly bogus.

13 posted on 11/23/2005 10:54:27 PM PST by ThePythonicCow (To err is human; to moo is bovine.)
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To: ThePythonicCow

^^^^^^^Equating Linux or Open Source (GPL license) work with communism because of apparent similarity in the monetary arrangements is utterly bogus.^^^^^^^

Yup. But that is the way of Microsoft(don't forget Apple). FUD, disinformation, propaganda...... hey, didn't the KGB do all of that too?

:-P


15 posted on 11/25/2005 5:09:51 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing (Linux, the #2 OS. Mac, the #3 OS. Apple's own numbers are hard to argue with.)
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