Messages in this thread | | | Date | Tue, 22 Oct 2002 15:30:54 +0200 (CEST) | From | Roman Zippel <> | Subject | Re: Bitkeeper outrage, old and new |
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Hi,
On Mon, 21 Oct 2002, Murray J. Root wrote:
> It's a simple concept. I produced it, it's mine until I say otherwise. > You grant other laborers the right to profit from their labors, do you > not?
Software isn't a product like others, once you've written it, you can reproduce it indefinitely with almost no further costs. Profit is defined as difference between the costs and the price you can realize on the market. The market price is determined by supply and demand. What happens now if a product is indefinitely available? The price drops until no significant profit can be made anymore. (*) So how is it possible to still make profit from an indefinitely available product? The supply must be artifically limited by disallowing free trade and withdrawing it from the free market. Whether this product is called software, music, movie or information doesn't matter, they can only be profitable, if access to it is limited. The romantic picture of the kids one has to feed and which one wants to take to the games is only useful to silence criticism. Larry should rather be worried about their future, how will they access information? Can they afford the in-depth information or has the base package to be enough, can they easily share it with their friends? We have to find ways now to keep information free and still allow the people, who produce information (software, music or movies) to make a living. Either that or we have to pay with our freedom.
bye, Roman
PS: (*) That's of course very simplified, in the short term these mechanisms can be influenced, but hardly in the long term. PPS: http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue7_3/soderberg/index.html
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