this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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People in capitalist economies do not contribute out of free will. They contribute so they won't starve.
I dont think so, that isn't necessarily the case. I think people in capitalist economies can also contribute out of their own free will, because they have fun with the project. To put it so that they only do it not to starve is, in my opinion, too harsh. I do lots of things in this economy because I have fun with them, not because I dont want to starve. However, I think that of course the aspect "I need food" is always a factor and an influence. Just very often not the only one.
Of course capitalism operates in a lot of gray areas, it's how it seems freer than it actually is. "I need food" isn't always a problem, but it is one often enough to be systemically problematic. Abandoning one's hopes and dreams because one must be "realistic" is the norm.
I think you raise a good point, I agree. Especially that the problem is very systematic.
Yeah, what I said is an exaggeration. A tiny portion of the population will never have to do a day of work in their lives because they're bankrolled by daddy. Other people will have free time because of the efforts of the labor movement. Some people are lucky to have jobs they like. But, unless you're super rich, the threat is always there. Capitalists are working hard to roll back labor rights. You could lose your job. You're always a few bad days away from needing to take a shit job so you can eat.
Okay, makes sense - I fully agree. Just wanted to clarify :)
Now, you are just making shit up, to fit your own beliefs. Have fun with that mental masturbation.
I have to admit, this reply has dumbfounded me. Well done.
Well the argument "People in capitalist economies do not contribute out of free will" is something you just pull out of your ass, to define your side as the ones that will "contribute out of free will" (hence, the good side). This is the same logic you see in religious cults, where they define that themselves are moral and right, and the outside immoral. It really doesn't deserve any serous response since there is no response that will be able to penetrate that kind of brainwash.
I'm sorry, it's just that I can't imagine you live in the same world I do. Maybe it's different for you, I saw you said you live in a socialist country so you may not be aware that in capitalist countries most people hate their jobs. It's so woven into the fabric of our society I'm shocked someone wouldn't know that. It's the subject of jokes:
-- Drew Carey
Monday, the start of the work week, is generally loathed. There's an acronym: TGIF, thank god it's friday, the end of the workweek. Polls show 40% of people think their jobs make no meaningful contribution to society:
Anyway, I guess I'll go back to my "religious cult," where we separate people into good and bad categories. For instance, one way we could do that is to say that other people are in a religious cult because they separate people into good and bad categories, hence they are bad people.
You're the one applying morals where there is none.
Communism is not about morality and we doesn't have a moral judgment of the world. It's simply looking at the material reality of things and them formulating ideas from that, the exact opposite of idealism (religion is a form of idealism).
What that user said is an exageration, sure, but they are not far off. Your only options under capitalism are work and pray to earn enough to pay for rent, or live in the streets. There's no choice here, you have no safety nets, no certainty.
The reality is that the biggest FOSS projects are usually bankrolled by companies that need them, not because of some moral good, but because it makes more monetary sense to do it that way.
Now for the other side, projects with no money incentive involved, where people contribute because they want too, usually are slow or in need of more contributors, precisely because, under capitalism, they don't have enough free time, they need to worry about their full time job and all the other priorities in their lives before they can sit down and contribute some code.
Again, there no moral judgement here, it's simply a description of the material reality.