Linked by David Adams on Thu 1st Oct 2009 01:39 UTC
As much as we like to stay away from letting real-world politics bleed over into our ongoing discussion of tech politics, I found an interesting essay over at The Economist's "Democracy in America" blog that draws a parallel between Apple's Mac/iPhone user-friendly ecosystem and the Microsoft Windows freer-but-more-chaotic ecosystem and how that lines up along the authoritarian/libertarian spectrum of real-world political division. They don't mention Open Source in this essay, but I'm sure it could make an interesting addition to the discussion. The essay's main point is that, in governance, attempts to make life more user-friendly for citizens usually ends up giving them less freedom of choice, and a certain segment of the political establishment will reliably oppose such moves. The idea that the tradeoff between choice and usability persists into the world of governance really set me to thinking. What kind of country would you rather live in? An Apple one, a Microsoft one, or an Open Source one?
Permalink for comment 387229
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:
2006-01-10
I'm not going to argue over dictionary definitions of freedom.
If you think freedom means the freedom to kill someone just because they insulted you... well then we don't speak of the same freedom
I'm not an anarchist nor would I ever risk plunging society into such an unknown. An anarchist or even extreme libertarian state might be workable. I just don't know enough to risk society on trying it out.
However, I do think maximal liberty is essential and the best way for all people.
The fear mongering of those who fear liberty is just that... fear mongering. Society does not collapse when freedom is introduced and we can see it by the countless examples through the world.
These are not theories. These are real world, tried and true methods. Gun ownership, school choice, free speech, sexual freedom, drugs... simply do not destroy societies as the fear mongers say they will and do not necessitate coercive government control and this government control rarely if ever solves the issues raised in fear mongering.
Forcing kids into public schools does not produce social harmony.
Drugs wars do not stop people from using
...
That's all I'm saying.