Toolkit

Story: Free software 'not anti-capitalist'

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Bravo!!!

"Free software is anti-capitalist" is only true if you view the entire business world through the rose-colored peepholed glasses of a proprietary software vendor. Remember that proprietary software only came about when the computer hardware manufacturers back in the mainframe days realized they could make even larger profits if they supplied application software to their customers rather than the customers writing it themselves.

When viewed under a macro lens rather than micro, it's proprietary software that's anti-capitalist because it diverts investment dollars from capital improvements in the core business of producing products or services. Software is just a tool. It's a necessary cost of doing business today, so economic theory dictates that you reduce costs where you can. Only if your core product IS software can you view it any other way. Until the world's economy is based on producing software, the only anti-capitalist software is non-free, proprietary software.

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