[Upd-discuss] Response from Sabine Nuss to Stallman Re: Paper:"Digital property" By Sabine Nuss, NY, NY, April 12-14, 2002

[Adam Moran]

On 27/09/05 22:58 Richard M. Stallman wrote:

> I read and responded to the first part of Sabine Nuss's response.
> (Then I ran out of time.)
> 
>     According to the internet freedom fighters is that, what can be done  
>     with software (and other information) in the real world, different  
>     from what can be done with physical objects. But: the internet  
>     freedom fighters draw the consequences that there must be other rules  
>     for this sphere.
> 
> Yes, we do say this.
> 
> Those words above accurately represent the views of some people,
> including me.  However, the article presented the views inaccurately,
> saying that we deny software is part of the real world.
> 
>     Now I would  
>     add, that in a capitalistic society for the "immaterial world" the  
>     same rules are valid as for the material world:
> 
> On the contrary, under current US or EU law, the rules are NOT the
> same.  Copyright law does make people treat copies of information
> _more_ like physical objects, but it's still not the same.
> 
> More importantly, that is not the only option that a capitalist
> society has.  There is no single choice that is automatically forced.

I agree that, on at a microscopic scale, an individual capitalist may 
have many capital-generating options open to him. However at a 
macroscopic scale, the emergent [1] rules / laws of the capitalist 
system tends to be based on the concept of private property.

On 27/09/05 22:58 Richard M. Stallman wrote:

>     When I wrote about �production� I had not only in mind the  
>     development of software, but all branches of capitalist production.  
> 
> The Free Software Movement is not against Capitalism, and it is not
> based on Marxism.  Its goals are not based on Marxist ideas ... 

I take it that Richard started the GNU Project [2] in reaction to the 
collapse of the hacker community, and in reaction to the restrictions in 
  academic-sharing codified in the Bayh-Dole Act [3].

If we consider this prototypical decision to be both influential and 
indicative of the microscopic action of the individual Free Software [4] 
producer, then we should not be surprised to find that the macroscopic 
manifestations of the movement, viz. its emerging rules / laws, are 
based on the behavior of *sharing*.

--
Adam

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent
[2] http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html
[3] http://www.oekonux.org/list-en/archive/msg01406.html
[4] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html