[Linux-aus] China chooses Linux - now official

[Leon Brooks]

On Thu, 6 Nov 2003 13:38, Jeremy Lunn wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 06, 2003 at 01:06:18PM +0800, Leon Brooks wrote:
>> China would build a domestic software industry around Linux --
>> a cheaper software standard that can copied and modified freely --
>> said Gou Zhongwen, a vice minister at the powerful Ministry of
>> Information Industry.

> That could be said to validate the communist argument that some
> cynics give. :-)

Interesting political ground, because FOSS does what Communism 
claimed/wanted to do - from each according to ability, to each 
according to need - but without using any classic Communist methods. Of 
course, it's only likely to work so well where copying something is 
essentially free (not, for example, cars, houses or food).

FOSS is also capitalist - it is the result of an outworking of market 
forces. Certain software superpowers claim to want to let the market 
decide, and the market has already decided: FOSS _is_ that decision, in 
a way, but less a esoteric ruling is that the market doesn't want said 
superpowers to trample FOSS.

Cheers; Leon

-- 
http://cyberknights.com.au/     Modern tools; traditional dedication
http://plug.linux.org.au/       Committee Member, Perth Linux User Group
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http://linux.org.au/            Committee Member, Linux Australia