[OS:N:] Re: Open source in schools and then some

["ekunin" <ekunin snet net>]

Open source is the opposite of free market capitalism. It is, if you'll
pardon the expression, utopian. Electric technology will, eventually, change
society. This discussion is relevant to open source in schools because we
should know why people resist open source.

1. Knowledge, not money, is the basis of class structure. Money indicates
knowledge which is why we let people who control capital decide what should
be built and where. In that electric technology spreads knowledge, it is
anti-hierarchy and authority. You see it in the medical profession where
people check their symptoms on the internet and discuss them with the
doctor. For many it is no longer take two of these and call me in the
morning.

2. The big issue with any society  is the tension between the individual and
the collective. In capitalism the two are generally opposed. If a
businessman has toxic materials to dispose of and to do it legally costs 5
mil, he might hire a garbage hauler who disposes of them for 100K. It works
for the two of them in that they each have more money than they would
otherwise, but it doesn't do the environment (that's a collective value) any
good.

3. Those in open source who want disarray and choice emphasize individual
values. They want to do their thing, whatever it is, no matter what. Were we
to measure open source actions by some overriding (collective) goal-say
"Beat M$", than we measure everything by that standard. I think five or so
distros does not come near cutting it.

4. This is an interesting thread to me, but it does not address my initial
point which was how do we treat an active PTA mother who knows nothing about
open source. She wants the best for the schools, but she doesn't want to use
her clout on something that might eventually be perceived as foolish. Evan
is unquestionably right in saying most people want to turn on the computer
and get e-mail or run a check writing program. Open sources triumphs have
been with servers (which I believe run one version of Apache), with
governments, and large users who have competent system administrators.
Individual desktops, schools, and small lans are a different story. If we
want to Beat M$, we have to become as focused as it is.

5. The apparent submergence of the individual to collective values does not
diminish individuals although it restricts them somewhat. In so far as
possible, individuals should be free to do what they want -i.e. sky dive,
hang glide, take drugs or whatever. Where the individual impacts the
collective is another story. Suppose someone likes to four wheel drive over
pristine wilderness. Should the community set aside an area and say four
wheel drive here all you want, but leave pristine wilderness alone? Is
protecting pristine areas so significant a collective value as to justify
restricting the individual's right to do as he or she pleases? I think yes,
but I'd go with majority or consensus rule.

Ed Kunin
http://www.egalite.com