diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/technological-neutrality.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/technological-neutrality.html | 125 |
1 files changed, 125 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/technological-neutrality.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/technological-neutrality.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..78cf0fb --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/technological-neutrality.html @@ -0,0 +1,125 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 --> +<title>Technological Neutrality and Free Software +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> + <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/technological-neutrality.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Technological Neutrality and Free Software</h2> + +<p>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard Stallman</a></p> + +<p>Proprietary developers arguing against laws to move towards free +software often claim this violates the principle of +“technological neutrality”. The conclusion is wrong, but +where is the error?</p> + +<p>Technological neutrality is the principle that the state should not +impose preferences for or against specific kinds of technology. For +example, there should not be a rule that specifies whether state +agencies should use solid state memory or magnetic disks, or whether +they should use GNU/Linux or BSD. Rather, the agency should let +bidders propose any acceptable technology as part of their solutions, +and choose the best/cheapest offer by the usual rules.</p> + +<p>The principle of technological neutrality is valid, but it has +limits. Some kinds of technology are harmful; they may pollute air or +water, encourage antibiotic resistance, abuse their users, abuse the +workers that make them, or cause massive unemployment. These should +be taxed, regulated, discouraged, or even banned.</p> + +<p>The principle of technological neutrality applies only to purely +technical decisions. It is not “ethical neutrality” or +“social neutrality”; it does not apply to decisions about +ethical and social issues—such as the choice between free +software and proprietary software.</p> + +<p>For instance, when the state adopts a policy of migrating to free +software in order to restore the computing sovereignty of the country +and lead the people towards freedom and cooperation, this isn't a +technical preference. This is an ethical, social and political +policy, not a technological policy. The state is not supposed to be +neutral about maintaining the people's freedom or encouraging +cooperation. It is not supposed to be neutral about maintaining or +recovering its sovereignty.</p> + +<p>It is the state's duty to insist that the software in its public +agencies respect the computing sovereignty of the country, and that +the software taught in its schools educate its students in freedom and +cooperation. The state must insist on free software, exclusively, in +<a href="/philosophy/government-free-software.html">public +agencies</a> and in <a href="/education/edu-schools.html"> +education</a>. The state has the responsibility to maintain control +of its computing, so it must not surrender that control to <a +href="/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html">Service as +a Software Substitute</a>. In addition, the <a +href="/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">state must not +reveal to companies the personal data</a> that it maintains about +citizens.</p> + +<p>When no ethical imperatives apply to a certain technical decision, +it can be left to the domain of technological neutrality.</p> + +</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> + +<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to + files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should + be under CC BY-ND 3.0 US. Please do NOT change or remove this + without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. + Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the + document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the + document was modified, or published. + + If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. + Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying + years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable + year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including + being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). + + There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers + Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> + +<p>Copyright © 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2014/11/07 08:38:00 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |