"Sinisa "Sigma14" "187.64.230.77" Milicic" wrote:
On Sun, 3 Dec 2000, Alessandro Rubini wrote:
Since I've seen no replies to this, yet, I'm posting mine.
the FS philsophy [...] this reminds me of the ideas and the names of prjects and similars [...] (e.g.technology for the people, $thing for the people) (I find nothing bad in this))
While I don't find it bad, either, I think the issues of libre [1] software are detached ("orthogonal") from political movements. I don't oppose your (or anyone else's) political ideas, I'd just better not mix them in the fight for libre programs. What I state in my talks about GNU/Linux is that libre software incorporates both leftist and rightist ideas. While it promotes equal shares of (potential) knowledge to everyone (leftist), it also promotes real competition in productive markets, by preventing monopolies and maximizing economical transactions and technical innovation (rightist).
1st of all, as far as I know, rightism is more 'nation-based' and/or supports agressive capitalism, that puts money above all, almost inlcldung human lives (in the context of exploiting people). 2nd, the FS movement, as far as I know, ranges from CENTER to LEFT, maybe 1 degree to the right. Center ios for democracy, Left is for socialism.
It depends what you mean by "rightism" and "leftism". There are several different issues here. There is economic-right (monetarian) and social-right (conservative). The other ends of the spectrum are economic-left (Keynesian) and social-left (liberal). A centerist is merely someone who believes in a position that is somewhere in the approximate center of these beliefs.
The FS movement contains many, many economic right-wingers in the form of libertarians and anarchists. It also, of course, contains many economic left-wingers in the form of socialists and communists. Socialism, communism and libertarianism do not exclude democracy. Democracy vs. dictatorship is an entirely seperate issue (although most real-world Communist countries have, unfortunately, also been dictatorships). Anarchism does exclude democracy, but only because it preaches the abolition of the state.
Generally, the FS movement *is* liberal on social issues, however.
The FS movement is not inherently anti-corporate or anti-capitalist. It only opposes those corporations who choose to restrict our rights by not implementing libre licenses.
</politics geek>
:)