Recently I received a very interesting comment about the use of Open Source software – the commenter stated he thought that Open Source software created a society of more democracy, more openness and less concentration of power and for him economic benefit is not so important as democracy.
This posed an interesting question for me; does the Open Source software enhance democracy or stimulate the economy? I came up with an answer of “Yes, but it depends…” The concept of open source is going to become an undercurrent to almost everything the new United States administration does," declared Open Source Initiative (OSI)'s Michael Tiemann. "The American concept of democracy is not just of the people and by the people but with the people." He said we have already seen a commitment to this open philosophy throughout President Obama's election campaign. Mr. Tiemann went on to say, "I think what we will see now is a maturation in America and around the world of an understanding of the open source model."
When pondering this question, I found myself on the horns of a dilemma. I realized that this was not a binary question. If I am in a dictatorship, it may make no difference how much software I write and distribute freely under a GNU license, I still am in a dictatorial regime and thus in this case, the answer is No! However if I am fortunate enough to live in a country whose overnmental foundation is democratic, the production and Open Source distribution of software available to the general populace does enhance democracy by empowering more people than commercial proprietary software – the last United States Presidential election is a case in point – Yes, Open Source software does enhance democracy. The ready availability (meaning free or inexpensive) of various types of modifiable applications to the general public confirmed a genre whereby individual citizens could express their opinions and amuse or annoy the rest of the citizenry.
Now as far as being an economic stimulus – the conventional answer is: Yes, but Open Source software comes with an explicit or implicit price tag. If as a small business or a government agency, you do not understand this, you are in for a rude surprise. It should not come as a mystery why companies that were producers of large and expensive proprietary software are now co-opting Open Source software companies or adopting a previously unimaginable Open Source philosophy.
Potential Open Source clients need to be aware that, just like democracy, it comes with a price – diligence. If your choice of an OS application is not mature, you may find you’re with unexpected development costs and at lease Operations & Maintenance (O&M) costs.
On the up side, I have found that through diligent research, Open Source software can serve as a catalytic framework (at a minimum) or as a complete application (requiring on configuration) – depending on you requirements.
OK, so what do you think….?
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