Richard Stallman’s interview on Spotlight had him discussing liberating software and the fact that as a society “we are heading for total disaster”.
- Free software means free as in “freedom”. It’s not a matter of price.
- There are many people who volunteer for causes and many who have hobbies. Developing software is a sort of hobby for many people and is a political cause for many.
- If someone believes a simple minded economic theory that says there can’t be free software, well that theory must be false. It’s like someone who has a theory saying satellites can’t stay up. Well they do. Look up at the moon one day and you’ll realize they do.
- Interviewer: If God wanted people to fly, he would have given them wings, true? Stallman: Well there is no God so that’s not a really meaningful question.
- Free software was still common around 1970 when I entered the field. But during the 70’s it was driven out by users subjecting proprietary software. But I had the good fortune to work in a place where the software was free, I experienced life in freedom. But then that community died in approximately 1982 and I saw myself facing a life of proprietary software. And it was ugly. It was disgusting. So I said: I’m going to dedicate all my efforts to creating another free software community, to replace the one that was gone.
- I had experienced life in a free software community. So I knew that it was possible and a good way of life. And I didn’t think that money could compensate for the ugliness of life that I would have with proprietary software. I didn’t want to be subjugated and I didn’t want to subjugate others. In fact it made me morally ashamed -the idea. It was morally wrong in my view.
- We’re heading for total disaster if we don’t put an end to extreme capitalism and re-established democracy. This doesn’t mean eliminating capitalism – just to eliminate the empire of the corporations doesn’t mean we stop having business. Free software combines capitalist ideas, and socialist ideas and anarchist ideas.
- Our government betray the citizens. When the empire of the corporations imposes its governments occupation, these governments exist to keep the public under control of business. Free software doesn’t control the public. Free software is software that the users control.
- Free software doesn’t mean it’s free. If you buy something you control it. Often that’s true – but not software. If you buy or even get gratis, a copy of a propriety program, you don’t control what it does. It is designed to frequently mistreat you.
For the full interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFMMXRoSxnA