I’d say FOSS is not more political than paying taxes. FOSS is just another way of using the copyright law enforcement without which FOSS cannot exist. If no copyright law enforcement is in place, then the GPL license wouldn’t have power. So FOSS is just another way a law abiding citizen may use their rights/entitlement and perform their obligation with copyright law like how they have right/entitlement and obligation from taxes.
If we’re including the other option, not paying taxes, then I agree. The choice of whether or not to use FOSS is as political as the choice of whether or not to pay taxes.
Coming back here from another discussion, I do find it funny now that a legal entity can choose to not pay taxes but a human cannot avoid that in any reasonable way
I’d say FOSS is not more political than paying taxes.
Which already means a lot: not paying rent for the right to exist as a natural person in an environment managed by what is essentially a rent-seeker who got there beforehand and accrued more power, is already quite a political decision. And I’ve not even gotten to the political point of if the resources acquired via taxing are used correctly or for the benefit of that local society.
FOSS is inherently political, it’s about whether or not you should have complete control of something you own. That’s a political stance.
Everything anyone cares about is political.
I’d say FOSS is not more political than paying taxes. FOSS is just another way of using the copyright law enforcement without which FOSS cannot exist. If no copyright law enforcement is in place, then the GPL license wouldn’t have power. So FOSS is just another way a law abiding citizen may use their rights/entitlement and perform their obligation with copyright law like how they have right/entitlement and obligation from taxes.
If we’re including the other option, not paying taxes, then I agree. The choice of whether or not to use FOSS is as political as the choice of whether or not to pay taxes.
Coming back here from another discussion, I do find it funny now that a legal entity can choose to not pay taxes but a human cannot avoid that in any reasonable way
I mean you can if you’re rich enough. But yeah.
That is a good point
Which already means a lot: not paying rent for the right to exist as a natural person in an environment managed by what is essentially a rent-seeker who got there beforehand and accrued more power, is already quite a political decision. And I’ve not even gotten to the political point of if the resources acquired via taxing are used correctly or for the benefit of that local society.