It's naive, and offensive [LWN.net]

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 13, 2006 16:42 UTC (Fri) by gowen (guest, #23914)
In reply to: It's naive, and offensive by BrucePerens
Parent article: There Is No Open Source Community (O'ReillyNet)

This is the sort of utilitarianism that leads us to devalue workers everywhere, not just in the Open Source community.

I agree with everything you say, Bruce, except your use of the word Utilitarianism. As Bentham et al, used the term, it is Open Source that is utilitarian, and the unethical (or, at least, a-ethical) accumulation of profits in the hands of business owners is the antithesis of Utilitarianism.

(Log in to post comments)

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 13, 2006 16:47 UTC (Fri) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510) [Link]

Oops. What's the right word, then?

Thanks

Bruce

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 13, 2006 17:16 UTC (Fri) by wilck (subscriber, #29844) [Link]

economic-a-lism?

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 13, 2006 17:28 UTC (Fri) by gowen (guest, #23914) [Link]

I don't know for sure, but it would share many moral and ethical precepts with Ayn Rand's Objectivism

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 14, 2006 0:10 UTC (Sat) by bk (guest, #25617) [Link]

This is spot on.

Economic rationalism

Posted Jan 19, 2006 4:36 UTC (Thu) by xoddam (subscriber, #2322) [Link]

"the view that commercial activity ... represents a sphere of activity in
which moral considerations, beyond the rule of business probity dictated
by enlightened self-interest, have no role to play." -- John Quiggin

Apparently it's a peculiarly Australian term. Maybe it will catch on
elsewhere :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_rationalism

Economic rationalism

Posted Jan 20, 2006 6:37 UTC (Fri) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]

I would say it's the economic parallel to Rational Anarchy

It's naive, and offensive

Posted Jan 19, 2006 18:29 UTC (Thu) by allesfresser (subscriber, #216) [Link]

Naked greed?