[Sussex] Long live the banana republic!

[Steve Dobson]

Angelo

On 06 June 2003 at 10:16 Angelo Servini wrote:
> This is interesting stuff.  Many years ago as a teen I was 
> enamoured of Karl Marx and Socialism and some of the fine
> ideas presented.  Namely the people themselves being in charge.
> However, because of good ol' human nature, the whole system was
> mortally flawed and could never work when driven by governmental
> direction (not to mention all the blood letting involved).
> Instead of corporate fat cats, you get stalinist fat cats duking
> it out for ascendancy.

I agree, there is nothing wrong with the ideas of socialism, but the
best known implementation (Russian Communism) was flawed and failed.
Note that China has a different implementation and that is not suffering
the same.  They are allowing some of the ideas of western capitalism
to operate their.

I think the OS community is a very clean socialist system, with ability
being the only yard stick.  

> But what if we were to adopt the Open-Source idea to all aspects
> of life? in other words a sort of barter economy where we help
> each other out of self-interest!  Open-Source works because it
> works within the system rather than attempting to overthrow it.
> It works because the fiscal element has been simply by-passed.

Does Open-Source work within the system?  Isn't it trying to 
over throw M$ which is part of the system?  I think that OS works
so well at the moment because the fiscal element hasn't been by-
passed, but removed.  Most working on OS projects do so outside
of earning a living.  Very few are paid to work on OS projects.

> The reason that M$ is a monopoly is that they managed to kill
> off their competitors by starving them out.

Or buying them up.

>                                              You will never
> be able to do that to the Open-Source community because they 
> can never be forced out of business by financial competition.

While the product is in the public domain I agree.

> With, lets call it Open-Economics, Capitalism becomes not 
> overthrown but irrelevant.  A new method (in fact its just
> an old one repackaged-its just applied on a global stage)
> of economy is born or may be born,  will it be better than
> the last, who knows, only time will tell.  I believe Open-Source
> has the potential for a far greater effect on society as a 
> whole than we think.  The only caveat is that those who have
> now are not just going to stand around and lose what they
> have now without a fight.  M$ and their ilk, still command
> a vast amount of fiscal clout behind them and the battle will
> get bloody and dirty as they lose market ground.  If you 
> think im kidding, or being a doom monger, just look at Corel
> and their attempts to screw IBM lately.

Some nice ideas, but some I don't like either.  Capitalism has
show to work well under the right circumstances, so for that
mater has Communism (Castro double the life expectancy of
his people - what other leads can say that? [A point Geoff made;
it's not mine]).  

I don't want to throw away the advantages of capitalism with 
the bad, just change the rules (law) so that the excesses are 
held in check.  Governments should not dictate how society members
(corporate or people) are to act but just set the limits on their
actions.

I think this new law giving stockholders a vote on the directors
pay packages is a good example of what I like to see.  I is now 
the members of society that can stop the Fat-cat's that are being
rewarded for doing nothing.  I have no problem with a £2m bounce
being paid to a CEO that takes at £10m company and turns it into
a £50m company.  It's the reverse that is wrong.  True performance 
related pay for the top brass :-)

Steve