Does Darwin’s theory of evolution conflict with the myth of Christianity? Of course it does. But to get you to attend church, a priest will reconcile the two based on “faith.” Likewise, survival of the fittest in capitalism conflicts with the benevolent force of open source development.
The faith placed in the ideals of open source creates a moral fabric to motivate developers. I cannot question its success in many cases, especially in these early days of computer evolution or a start-up company.
In an earlier era religion garnered most the will and material donations of the state. Entire civilizations were conquered in the name of God to carry home riches. The wealthiest entities on Earth were the churches, lined with gold from wars abroad.
Today religion is still with us and churches remain exempt from taxation. But in the modern world corporations have taken the power. Business rules the earth. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Cisco.
Faith-based principles eventually fade in importance as science, technology and markets take over. For those who still believe, the corporations continue to capitalize on faith with token open source programs and donations.
Start-ups often capture the imagination of open source development, both to leverage “free” IP and to “build the dream.” Without substantial funding from incumbent powers, it’s the only way to poke holes in the crowded and protected industrial complex. But those early open source companies cannot succeed as independent, operating entities without migrating to a commercial path or securing faith tokens from major corporations. FireFox, the open source browser, survives on Google donations. Open source blogging software WordPress.org spawned the paid alternative WordPress.com.
Like religion, it’s an inexorable fate for open source. But it will always have an important place in conception and early development.
