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Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Meeting reminder - Free Software Manchester - tomo


From: Noah Slater
Subject: Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Meeting reminder - Free Software Manchester - tomorrow 7pm
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:10:05 +0000

> I am however very pleased with the 'memespace' seeding that seems to
> have occured with this debate about Fair Trade / Free Software.   One
> day on the street I asked a Greenpeace activist (not chugger) whether or
> not Greenpeace used FS, he immediately replied (not knowing who or what
> I was) by saying, "FS is NOT like Fair Trade - I am a VB programmer, I
> have to earn a living for my wife and kids".  tee hee.

I am going to draw a comparison that is clearly blown out of
proportions - but in doing so I hope to illustrate the fallacy of such
arguments.

If you spoke to someone who was involved with organised crime, drug
dealing and prostitution and told him that you thought it wasn't an
ethical way of life can you imagine him turning around to you and
saying:

    "But I have a wife and kids to feed!"

Just because something pays money does not mean it is ethically correct.

No one is compelled to earn money in any particular way - if you feel
strongly against the ethics of something you cannot plausibly continue
doing that thing under the pretence of "earning a living". At least,
it makes no sense to me.

-- 
Noah Slater <http://www.bytesexual.org/>

"Creativity can be a social contribution, but only in so
far as society is free to use the results." - R. Stallman




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