RMS's note to am-info regarding software development models...

[James Love <love@cptech.org>]

I forward to Richard Stallman a note about the discussion on am-info
regarding his proposals on government funding of software development. 
He was kind enough to sent me this note.  Jamie

-----------------------------------
Subject:   Re: Tocqueville on open source development
   Date:   Mon, 9 Nov 1998 11:05:02 -0700 (MST)
   From:   Richard Stallman <rms@santafe.edu>
Reply-To:  rms@gnu.org
     To:   love@cptech.org
       CC:  brett@lariat.org, am-info@Essential.ORG
 
    Eric Bennett said that Stallman "suggests replacing all (or perhaps
    even the majority of) commercial software with government-written
    software funded by a software tax."

I've proposed a number of ways of raising money for free software
development.  One idea is that a tax on computer supplies could be
used.  As far as collection of the tax is concerned, this would be
much like the existing US tax on DAT tapes.  But the spending of the
money would be different.  Where the DAT tax is given to private
parties solely for their enrichment, the computer supplies tax money
would be spent on projects that serve the public, following a long
American tradition of spending tax money on the development of
knowledge to be made available to the public.

This is not "what I stand for"; it is an option.  What I stand for is
that software should be free: users should be free to copy, change and
redistribute software.  I've proposed various ways of funding free
software development, so as to offer people the widest variety of
options.

I have no objection in principle to taxation, even though I dislike
many aspects of it; likewise I have no objection in principle to
business, even though I dislike many aspects of it.  I judge both
taxes and businesses by how well they serve the needs of people.  So
I've proposed methods of supporting free software through government,
and methods of supporting it through business, as well as methods that
involve neither one.