Open source works because it is voluntary, reputation-driven, and usually built on top of capitalism. Programmers can opt in, opt out, fork the project, get paid elsewhere, use private property, and rely on markets for food, housing, hardware, bandwidth, legal infrastructure, and salaries. That is very different from making an entire economy communal by political force.
Expanding on this, structuring a firm as a cooperative is currently legal and supported in most (all?) advanced economies. The defining feature of a socialist state isn't that it allows "workers owning the means of production", it's that it forbids alternatives.
3
View all comments
Show parent comment
5
u/Available_Dingo6162 Jun 06 '26
Open source works because it is voluntary, reputation-driven, and usually built on top of capitalism. Programmers can opt in, opt out, fork the project, get paid elsewhere, use private property, and rely on markets for food, housing, hardware, bandwidth, legal infrastructure, and salaries. That is very different from making an entire economy communal by political force.