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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/freedom-or-power.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/freedom-or-power.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec67828 --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/freedom-or-power.html @@ -0,0 +1,166 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 --> +<title>Freedom Or Power? +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<meta http-equiv="Keywords" content="GNU, FSF, Free Software Foundation, Linux, general, public, license, gpl, general public license, freedom, software, power, rights" /> +<meta http-equiv="Description" content="In this essay, Freedom or Power?, Bradley M. Kuhn and Richard M. Stallman discuss the reasons that the free software movement doesn't advocate the so-called freedom to choose any license you want for software you write." /> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/freedom-or-power.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Freedom or Power?</h2> + +<p> +by <strong>Bradley M. Kuhn</strong> and <strong>Richard +M. Stallman</strong></p> + +<blockquote> +<p>The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the +love of ourselves.<br /> +-- William Hazlitt</p> +</blockquote> + +<p> +In the free software movement, we stand for freedom for the users of +software. We formulated our views by looking at what freedoms are +necessary for a good way of life, and permit useful programs to foster a +community of goodwill, cooperation, and collaboration. <a +href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">Our criteria for free software</a> specify +the freedoms that a program's users need so that they can cooperate in a +community.</p> + +<p> +We stand for freedom for programmers as well as for other users. +Most of us are programmers, and we want freedom for ourselves as well +as for you. But each of us uses software written by others, and we +want freedom when using that software, not just when using our own +code. We stand for freedom for all users, whether they program often, +occasionally, or not at all.</p> + +<p> +However, one so-called freedom that we do not advocate is the +“freedom to choose any license you want for software you +write.” We reject this because it is really a form of power, +not a freedom.</p> + +<p> +This oft overlooked distinction is crucial. Freedom is being able to make +decisions that affect mainly you; power is being able to make decisions +that affect others more than you. If we confuse power with freedom, we +will fail to uphold real freedom.</p> + +<p> +Making a program proprietary is an exercise of power. Copyright law +today grants software developers that power, so they and only they +choose the rules to impose on everyone else—a relatively small +number of people make the basic software decisions for all users, +typically by denying their freedom. When users lack the +freedoms that define free software, they can't tell what the +software is doing, can't check for back doors, can't monitor possible +viruses and worms, can't find out what personal information is being +reported (or stop the reports, even if they do find out). If it breaks, +they can't fix it; they have to wait for the developer to exercise its +power to do so. If it simply isn't quite what they need, they are stuck +with it. They can't help each other improve it.</p> + +<p> +Proprietary software developers are often businesses. We in the free +software movement are not opposed to business, but we have seen what +happens when a software business has the “freedom” to +impose arbitrary rules on the users of software. Microsoft is an +egregious example of how denying users' freedoms can lead to direct +harm, but it is not the only example. Even when there is no monopoly, +proprietary software harms society. A choice of masters is not +freedom.</p> + +<p> +Discussions of rights and rules for software have often concentrated +on the interests of programmers alone. Few people in the world +program regularly, and fewer still are owners of proprietary software +businesses. But the entire developed world now needs and uses +software, so software developers now control the way it lives, +does business, communicates, and is entertained. The ethical and +political issues are not addressed by the slogan of “freedom of +choice (for developers only).”</p> + +<p> +If “code is law,” <a href="#f1">(1)</a> then the real question we face is: who should control the +code you use—you, or an elite few? We believe you are entitled +to control the software you use, and giving you that control is the +goal of free software.</p> + +<p> +We believe you should decide what to do with the software you use; +however, that is not what today's law says. Current copyright law places +us in the position of power over users of our code, whether we like it or +not. The ethical response to this situation is to proclaim freedom for +each user, just as the Bill of Rights was supposed to exercise government +power by guaranteeing each citizen's freedoms. That is what the <a +href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">GNU General Public License</a> is for: +it puts you in control of your usage of the software while <a +href="/philosophy/why-copyleft.html">protecting you from others</a> who would +like to take control of your decisions.</p> + +<p> +As more and more users realize that code is law, and come to feel that +they too deserve freedom, they will see the importance of the freedoms +we stand for, just as more and more users have come to appreciate the +practical value of the free software we have developed.</p> + +<h4>Footnotes</h4> + +<a id="f1"></a> William J. Mitchell, +<em>City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn </em> (Cambridge, +Mass.: MIT Press, 1995), p. 111, as quoted by Lawrence Lessig in +<em>Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Version 2.0</em> (New York, NY: +Basic Books, 2006), p. 5. + +<hr /> +<blockquote id="fsfs"><p class="big">This essay is published +in <a href="http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/"><cite>Free +Software, Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard +M. Stallman</cite></a>.</p></blockquote> + +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a +href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a +href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other +corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a +href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for +information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.</p> +</div> + +<p>Copyright © 2001, 2009 Bradley M. Kuhn and Richard M. Stallman</p> + +<p>Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted +without royalty in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2014/04/12 12:40:06 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |