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Re: Money (was: Re: [ox-en] Food production and Free Software)



On Sat, Dec 22, 2001 at 10:28:21AM [PHONE NUMBER REMOVED], Stefan Meretz wrote:
Important is here: The capitalist game is not a problem of (unjust)
distribution, but of the kind of production. And in core free software
is exactly that: It is not a new type of distribution, it is a new type
of production with self-unfolding as core (of course including the other
three aspects StefanMn mentioned in the interview: self-organization,
global network, being free of economic value) - on the societal level.

But it *is* a new type of distribution!  The GPL has no effect on the
method of production.  A free program can be worked on in secret by a
small group, just as a proprietary program might be developed with
colaboration that is "typical" but not necessary of free software.
However, the GPL does explicitly change the way in which the program
or its source is distributed, and this *indirectly* alters the types
of production used for it, since the set of possible developers is now
larger.

A new society can only have money like the game "monopoly" has money 
(money only in the sense of paida-play as Benja explained). In other 
senses money is not needed. Why money if there is no exchange? Look at 
free software, its production has nothing to do with exchange. And users 
only take it. Taking and giving is unlinked (uncoupled?): You don't need 
to give in order to take or get. It is the first time in history we have 
such germ form here.

If you write code, you are giving your time.  You might just be giving
your time to yourself, or you might be giving it to someone else.  In
capitalism it's expected that if you do the latter you will be repaid
for your time because it is considered "lost".  However, in free
softwarism ;) if you follow the idea of selbstentfaltung you can give
your time to both yourself and others.  Since this gift benefitted you
just as much as others, the time is no longer "lost" (on the contrary,
it is compounded--you have actually given others time they would have
had to spend writing the same code themselves).
_______________________
http://www.oekonux.org/


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