[Fsf-india] Freedom, affordable costs... beer, freespeech

[Khuzaima A. Lakdawala]

Seems that the financial power of the Proprietary Software industry to
undercut Free Software in a long battle, when it (the PS industry) is
sufficiently threatened, has not been appreciated.

The *single* largest proprietary software company's market
capitalization is larger than many third-world countries' *combined*
GNPs. Such a corporation can buy out entire governments, flood a
market with low-cost proprietary software (Rs. 100 per CD, if you
will), continue doing this for a long time without feeling a pinch --
they have amassed enough and more so far to keep them going for quite
some time -- until complete product lock-in is achieved and all Free
Software has disappeared.

The reason why the proprietary software industry is not already doing
the above is that they are not *sufficiently threatened yet!* MS
*still* has 90% of the worldwide desktop market, Governments all over
the world (first or third is irrelevant here) are still not only
buying from them but making *long term* deals with them!

And if people *are* adopting or switching to Free Software for this
reason (cost), what is going to stop them from adopting or switching
(back) to proprietary software for the same reason?

These folks will then exercise their "economic freedom" to purchase
proprietary software!

All of the above *will* happen if end-users are not educated about
software freedoms. If they are not enlightened about the fact that
given a choice between equal-cost Free and Proprietary Software, they
should opt for the former because then they get the software *PLUS*
the freedoms. And if they are not further enlightened that, in fact,
it is okay to pay *more* for Free Software because money spent on
acquiring freedom is a *good* way to spend money! [I thank a fellow
free-software-advocate for articulating the last two points recently]

And all of the above does not even consider the possibility of the
Proprietary Software industry using its money power to try and outlaw
Free Software altogether. One would have to be really misinformed on
the electronic freedom front (think DMCA) not to consider this
possibility seriously.

And how will we fight that eventuality? Using this low-cost argument?
That will be a joke.

We cannot ensure the survival of Free Software without making people
understand the core, the soul, of Free Software. Without enlightening
them that Free Software gives them the freedom to share, the freedom
to help themselves and the freedom to help others. That any monetary
cost of acquiring that freedom in the first place is well worth
it. That they should stand up and prevent their governments from
placing obstacles in the acquisition of these freedoms.

To tell people that they should get Free Software because it is
*cheap* is to slap freedom in the face. The most degrading thing that
could be done to the ideals at the foundation of free software.

And when a movement gets divorced from its ideals, it will not be able
to sustain itself. It *will* collapse. One cannot focus on a
short-term secondary advantage (low-cost) of Free Software and hope to
convert it into the new foundation and raison d'etre of Free
Software. Such a bizarre approach just cannot succeed.


-- 
Khuzaima A. Lakdawala