this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Reading about FOSS philosophy, degoogling, becoming against corporations, and now a full-blown woke communist (like Linus Torvalds)

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago (11 children)

Linux and open source in general completely blow apart capitalist arguments that profit motive is necessary for innovation and technological advancement. Open source ecosystem primarily run by volunteers has produces some of the most interesting and innovative technologies that we've seen. The reality is that people make interesting things because they're curious and they enjoy making stuff. Pretty much nobody makes anything interesting with profit being the primary motive.

[–] ThereRisesARedStar@hexbear.net 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Also without open source the capitalist tech sector would collapse

[–] axsyse@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It wouldn't necessarily collapse (it wasn't exactly suffering before FOSS stuff "hit the shelves", so to speak) but the gatekeeping that comes with it would certainly cause a tremendous amount of stagnation

[–] ThereRisesARedStar@hexbear.net 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I work in software development. Almost all modern architecture would collapse without the open source ecosystem.

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[–] FaeDrifter@midwest.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

capitalist arguments that profit motive is necessary for innovation and technological advancement

I don't know who is arguing this because it's incredibly stupid. The greatest scientific minds of history, the mathematicians, the physicists, the inventors, were not capitalists, they're people with passion for their work.

If we move to a society that guarantees basic human needs and good education, we're only going to have more scientists and engineers that progress technology even faster.

[–] Thorned_Rose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Capitalists argue this because it gives them the appearance of a moral high ground.

Enshittification shows how untrue this - capitalism by its very nature will always devolve into worse and worse offerings because it's reliant on squeezing out ever more profit.

Capitalism will only ever puh out the bare minimum of technological advancement. And keeping people in indentured labour (aka employees) to the capitalist system so that they either have no time to come up with innovations themselves or they own the intellectual property of any indentured workers means that the overwhelming majority of innovation is monopolised by capitalism too. Which also contributes to the appearance of pushing advancement.

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[–] thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Context for those who are baffled (I was)

https://news.itsfoss.com/linus-torvalds-woke-communists/

No Linus hasn't grabbed a red rag and isn't off to foment revolution

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[–] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago

This meme shows completely my journey. I became a FOSS advocate in 2020 after realized that all sites that I visited wanted my "cookies". I started to questioning myself about and after some research I became a disciple of Richard Stallman and a Marxist-Leninist.

[–] xarexyouxmadx@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

In my experience I've noticed Linux tends to (disproportionately) attract both libertarians and socialists/communists. I feel like I run into more of both within the Linux community than I do in other communities.

I started using Linux because I couldn't force myself to use Windows 8. Up to that point I used whatever version of Windows came right before the graphical interface but 8 was too awful so I started playing with mint and never went back..

I got off the capitalism train in the middle of that but that was only because I decided to major in business and when I saw how the sausage was made I jumped ship but I didn't know anything about socialism or communism or marxism or whatever you want to call it. I was so not into politics or economics that I literally had to search the Internet and ask people on social media what was an alternative to the crap I was reading for my classes.. And then I went down that rabbit hole. If was enlightening. I learned a lot.

Also... for people who think college is Marxist indoctrination...Marx was brought up for one paragraph in one book at the very very end of my 4 years. But by that point I already knew who he was just from the rabbit hole I went down when I was curious for some alternative to what I was being taught.

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

ITT: people who have no idea what communism is

[–] Zehzin@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The Linux to trans anarchocommunist catgirl pipeline is very real. The moment you move to Arch it's already over.

[–] ensignrick@startrek.website 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I just installed pop!_os am I safe?

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[–] Kjatten@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Just began using Linux, was already Marxist

[–] dayna@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 2 years ago

I think there is something fundamental about the pull of investigating, understanding, and reading that leads to so much crossover between the two.

[–] citrusface@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

...I just didn't want windows advertising to me.

[–] ConfusedLlama@kbin.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

rant:

I have been using Linux since 2006, a lefty and against the super-rich and big corporations since I remember (to the point of avoiding their products like the plague), also never having understood or accepted gender roles and other stupid traditional concepts, yet never turned into a communist 🤷

It baffles me that so many people think that respecting gender equality, understanding the evil in big corporations and avoiding them, valuing community and being tolerant (except for intolerance) and against discrimination somehow equals communism... I say this because I've been called a communist by many people who know me, while I have always rejected it explicitly!

/rant

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[–] StaySquared@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Am I doing it wrong because I've use Ubuntu (12 years) and Kali Linux (8 years) and... I'm still not a marxist?

[–] imAadesh@lemmy.ml 3 points 11 months ago

Skill issue

[–] naeap@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Just wait for the next stage as a libertarian socialist, without a leading communist party, because we can take care of us ourselves - it's usually called anarchy (which doesn't mean no social norms, just self-organisation without leadership)

[–] thebrownhaze@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

On Lemmy? Shock

[–] foreverandaday@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago
[–] Quazatron@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

In my view Torvalds is more of a pragmatic stoicist.

[–] SaltyIceteaMaker@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

I feel called out.

I'm not quite there yet but im definitly at the second to last block

[–] bunitor@lemmy.eco.br 1 points 6 months ago

sorted by controversial and found this post. why? this is amazing

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