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A comment on When free software isn't practically superior (2015). Parent comment

Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by zapzupnz on Thursday December 17, 2020 @04:43PM (#25460870)
Even when the means of production are in the hands of the workers, that presumably doesn't necessarily equate to accepting the workers tinkering all day, getting nothing done.
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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by Privacy846 on Thursday December 17, 2020 @04:59PM (#25461065)
I don’t know what this means.
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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by sudosysgen on Thursday December 17, 2020 @08:02PM (#25462569)
What they are saying is that in a hypothetical communist/socialist society, even if the entirety of production is organized by workers, it doesn't mean that they aren't going to be productive in actually building stuff, nor that they aren't going to get stuff done.

How that relates to your argument I don't exactly know, but I guess it could be interpreted as saying that even if you admit that philosophy doesn't mean that you can't produce ""profit"" - especially if it is limited to software.

Also, in theory, you could be 100% accept communist philosophy yet operate a for profit business.

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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by yellowapple on Thursday December 17, 2020 @05:13PM (#25461212)
It does, however, typically necessitate the workers actually owning those means of production, which in the case of software typically entails either in-house development or the use of free software. The notion of any worker "owning" non-free software is illusory, at best.
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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by sudosysgen on Thursday December 17, 2020 @07:47PM (#25462464)
Indeed. Writ large, socialism isn't compatible with intellectual property, which I guess is part of the reason why early tech culture (and also nowadays but less so) has so many libertarian socialists.
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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by ineedasername on Thursday December 17, 2020 @08:19PM (#25462689)
and also nowadays but less so) has so many libertarian socialists

Maybe it's the HN bubble, but tech culture these days seems to have a strong element of anarcho-capitalism, taking the usual minarchism of libertarian thought just a small step further.

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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by sudosysgen on Thursday December 17, 2020 @08:25PM (#25462723)
Anarcho-capitalism and the general right-libertarian tendencies in tech culture are virulently opposed to libertarian socialism, though. That said, I agree with your appraisal.
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Re:When free software isn't practically superior (2015) by yellowapple on Friday December 18, 2020 @12:42PM (#25469684)
The HN bubble definitely has a lot to do with that, since the startup culture tends to hold capitalism on a pedestal.
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