Why would that matter to the workers? They'll still get the same exorbitant salary that they negotiated. They could have invested in their employer just like anyone else.
>As software rots, multinationals may become the only players capable of making websites.
They are already the decision makers of who open source software is for.
The thing people fail most at realizing is that you can't have a lot of rich people with a lot of power without having a lot of poor people with no power. The interests of the former will always effectively undermine the latter.
Similarly, you can't have software that serves multinationals and regular people at the same time because the interests of the former will always effectively undermine the latter.
Vulnerable. Not begging, vulnerable. This is prime blaming the victim. People who have an innate drive to make music or art are vulnerable to be exploited, but place the blame where it belongs: on those who would exploit them.
Most humans enjoy music and art. We want it to exist. It makes life better. We shouldn't be looking down on those who want to supply it.
> People who have an innate drive to make music or art are vulnerable to be exploited, but place the blame where it belongs: on those who would exploit them.
I don’t understand this.
Why are only people who make music or art special in this regard?
If I am someone who enjoys Software Engineering, am I also ripe to be exploited? If not, please explain.
>Most humans enjoy music and art. We want it to exist. It makes life better. We shouldn't be looking down on those who want to supply it.
Of course I agree with all your desires. I'm just saying how capitalism works in reality. You can pass moral judgements all you want, but capitalism doesn't care how many people want something. In capitalism, it's all about profit over time.
A “yes, and” pivot: you’re going to be exploited, you should be begging for a union.
I’ve been musing on what an open source (users/creators) union would look like. The best of us write software in this “no matter what” category. How could we collectively support them while they support us and we support each other?
Either way, that is some incredibly naive logic. The so-called open source software "community" desperately needs some lessons on how capitalism works.
> The union/employer relationship is inherently hostile. The whole idea is that unionized employees can threaten production/profits as negotiation leverage.
The boss/employer relationship is inherently hostile. The whole idea is that bosses can threaten employment/wages as negotiation leverage.
It's irrelevant because the workers won't see a penny of any of it. You kinda left that part out.