# LANGUAGE translation of http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc. # This file is distributed under the same license as the original article. # FIRST AUTHOR , YEAR. # #, fuzzy msgid "" msgstr "" "Project-Id-Version: shouldbefree.html\n" "POT-Creation-Date: 2013-03-23 18:27-0300\n" "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n" "Last-Translator: FULL NAME \n" "Language-Team: LANGUAGE \n" "MIME-Version: 1.0\n" "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=CHARSET\n" "Content-Transfer-Encoding: ENCODING" #. type: Content of: msgid "Why Software Should Be Free - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h2> msgid "Why Software Should Be Free" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "by <a href=\"http://www.stallman.org/\"><strong>Richard " "Stallman</strong></a>" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "Introduction" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The existence of software inevitably raises the question of how decisions " "about its use should be made. For example, suppose one individual who has a " "copy of a program meets another who would like a copy. It is possible for " "them to copy the program; who should decide whether this is done? The " "individuals involved? Or another party, called the “owner”?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Software developers typically consider these questions on the assumption " "that the criterion for the answer is to maximize developers' profits. The " "political power of business has led to the government adoption of both this " "criterion and the answer proposed by the developers: that the program has an " "owner, typically a corporation associated with its development." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I would like to consider the same question using a different criterion: the " "prosperity and freedom of the public in general." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This answer cannot be decided by current law—the law should conform to " "ethics, not the other way around. Nor does current practice decide this " "question, although it may suggest possible answers. The only way to judge " "is to see who is helped and who is hurt by recognizing owners of software, " "why, and how much. In other words, we should perform a cost-benefit " "analysis on behalf of society as a whole, taking account of individual " "freedom as well as production of material goods." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "In this essay, I will describe the effects of having owners, and show that " "the results are detrimental. My conclusion is that programmers have the " "duty to encourage others to share, redistribute, study, and improve the " "software we write: in other words, to write <a " "href=\"/philosophy/free-sw.html\">“free” software</a>.<a " "href=\"#f1\">(1)</a>" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "How Owners Justify Their Power" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Those who benefit from the current system where programs are property offer " "two arguments in support of their claims to own programs: the emotional " "argument and the economic argument." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The emotional argument goes like this: “I put my sweat, my heart, my " "soul into this program. It comes from <em>me</em>, it's " "<em>mine</em>!”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This argument does not require serious refutation. The feeling of " "attachment is one that programmers can cultivate when it suits them; it is " "not inevitable. Consider, for example, how willingly the same programmers " "usually sign over all rights to a large corporation for a salary; the " "emotional attachment mysteriously vanishes. By contrast, consider the great " "artists and artisans of medieval times, who didn't even sign their names to " "their work. To them, the name of the artist was not important. What " "mattered was that the work was done—and the purpose it would serve. " "This view prevailed for hundreds of years." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The economic argument goes like this: “I want to get rich (usually " "described inaccurately as ‘making a living’), and if you don't " "allow me to get rich by programming, then I won't program. Everyone else is " "like me, so nobody will ever program. And then you'll be stuck with no " "programs at all!” This threat is usually veiled as friendly advice " "from the wise." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I'll explain later why this threat is a bluff. First I want to address an " "implicit assumption that is more visible in another formulation of the " "argument." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This formulation starts by comparing the social utility of a proprietary " "program with that of no program, and then concludes that proprietary " "software development is, on the whole, beneficial, and should be " "encouraged. The fallacy here is in comparing only two " "outcomes—proprietary software versus no software—and assuming " "there are no other possibilities." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Given a system of software copyright, software development is usually linked " "with the existence of an owner who controls the software's use. As long as " "this linkage exists, we are often faced with the choice of proprietary " "software or none. However, this linkage is not inherent or inevitable; it " "is a consequence of the specific social/legal policy decision that we are " "questioning: the decision to have owners. To formulate the choice as " "between proprietary software versus no software is begging the question." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "The Argument against Having Owners" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The question at hand is, “Should development of software be linked " "with having owners to restrict the use of it?”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "In order to decide this, we have to judge the effect on society of each of " "those two activities <em>independently</em>: the effect of developing the " "software (regardless of its terms of distribution), and the effect of " "restricting its use (assuming the software has been developed). If one of " "these activities is helpful and the other is harmful, we would be better off " "dropping the linkage and doing only the helpful one." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "To put it another way, if restricting the distribution of a program already " "developed is harmful to society overall, then an ethical software developer " "will reject the option of doing so." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "To determine the effect of restricting sharing, we need to compare the value " "to society of a restricted (i.e., proprietary) program with that of the same " "program, available to everyone. This means comparing two possible worlds." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This analysis also addresses the simple counterargument sometimes made that " "“the benefit to the neighbor of giving him or her a copy of a program " "is cancelled by the harm done to the owner.” This counterargument " "assumes that the harm and the benefit are equal in magnitude. The analysis " "involves comparing these magnitudes, and shows that the benefit is much " "greater." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "To elucidate this argument, let's apply it in another area: road " "construction." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "It would be possible to fund the construction of all roads with tolls. This " "would entail having toll booths at all street corners. Such a system would " "provide a great incentive to improve roads. It would also have the virtue " "of causing the users of any given road to pay for that road. However, a " "toll booth is an artificial obstruction to smooth driving—artificial, " "because it is not a consequence of how roads or cars work." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Comparing free roads and toll roads by their usefulness, we find that (all " "else being equal) roads without toll booths are cheaper to construct, " "cheaper to run, safer, and more efficient to use.<a href=\"#f2\">(2)</a> In " "a poor country, tolls may make the roads unavailable to many citizens. The " "roads without toll booths thus offer more benefit to society at less cost; " "they are preferable for society. Therefore, society should choose to fund " "roads in another way, not by means of toll booths. Use of roads, once " "built, should be free." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "When the advocates of toll booths propose them as <em>merely</em> a way of " "raising funds, they distort the choice that is available. Toll booths do " "raise funds, but they do something else as well: in effect, they degrade the " "road. The toll road is not as good as the free road; giving us more or " "technically superior roads may not be an improvement if this means " "substituting toll roads for free roads." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Of course, the construction of a free road does cost money, which the public " "must somehow pay. However, this does not imply the inevitability of toll " "booths. We who must in either case pay will get more value for our money by " "buying a free road." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I am not saying that a toll road is worse than no road at all. That would " "be true if the toll were so great that hardly anyone used the road—but " "this is an unlikely policy for a toll collector. However, as long as the " "toll booths cause significant waste and inconvenience, it is better to raise " "the funds in a less obstructive fashion." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "To apply the same argument to software development, I will now show that " "having “toll booths” for useful software programs costs society " "dearly: it makes the programs more expensive to construct, more expensive to " "distribute, and less satisfying and efficient to use. It will follow that " "program construction should be encouraged in some other way. Then I will go " "on to explain other methods of encouraging and (to the extent actually " "necessary) funding software development." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "The Harm Done by Obstructing Software" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Consider for a moment that a program has been developed, and any necessary " "payments for its development have been made; now society must choose either " "to make it proprietary or allow free sharing and use. Assume that the " "existence of the program and its availability is a desirable thing.<a " "href=\"#f3\">(3)</a>" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Restrictions on the distribution and modification of the program cannot " "facilitate its use. They can only interfere. So the effect can only be " "negative. But how much? And what kind?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "Three different levels of material harm come from such obstruction:" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "Fewer people use the program." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "None of the users can adapt or fix the program." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "Other developers cannot learn from the program, or base new work on it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Each level of material harm has a concomitant form of psychosocial " "harm. This refers to the effect that people's decisions have on their " "subsequent feelings, attitudes, and predispositions. These changes in " "people's ways of thinking will then have a further effect on their " "relationships with their fellow citizens, and can have material " "consequences." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The three levels of material harm waste part of the value that the program " "could contribute, but they cannot reduce it to zero. If they waste nearly " "all the value of the program, then writing the program harms society by at " "most the effort that went into writing the program. Arguably a program that " "is profitable to sell must provide some net direct material benefit." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "However, taking account of the concomitant psychosocial harm, there is no " "limit to the harm that proprietary software development can do." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Obstructing Use of Programs" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The first level of harm impedes the simple use of a program. A copy of a " "program has nearly zero marginal cost (and you can pay this cost by doing " "the work yourself), so in a free market, it would have nearly zero price. A " "license fee is a significant disincentive to use the program. If a widely " "useful program is proprietary, far fewer people will use it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "It is easy to show that the total contribution of a program to society is " "reduced by assigning an owner to it. Each potential user of the program, " "faced with the need to pay to use it, may choose to pay, or may forego use " "of the program. When a user chooses to pay, this is a zero-sum transfer of " "wealth between two parties. But each time someone chooses to forego use of " "the program, this harms that person without benefiting anyone. The sum of " "negative numbers and zeros must be negative." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "But this does not reduce the amount of work it takes to <em>develop</em> the " "program. As a result, the efficiency of the whole process, in delivered " "user satisfaction per hour of work, is reduced." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This reflects a crucial difference between copies of programs and cars, " "chairs, or sandwiches. There is no copying machine for material objects " "outside of science fiction. But programs are easy to copy; anyone can " "produce as many copies as are wanted, with very little effort. This isn't " "true for material objects because matter is conserved: each new copy has to " "be built from raw materials in the same way that the first copy was built." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "With material objects, a disincentive to use them makes sense, because fewer " "objects bought means less raw material and work needed to make them. It's " "true that there is usually also a startup cost, a development cost, which is " "spread over the production run. But as long as the marginal cost of " "production is significant, adding a share of the development cost does not " "make a qualitative difference. And it does not require restrictions on the " "freedom of ordinary users." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "However, imposing a price on something that would otherwise be free is a " "qualitative change. A centrally imposed fee for software distribution " "becomes a powerful disincentive." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "What's more, central production as now practiced is inefficient even as a " "means of delivering copies of software. This system involves enclosing " "physical disks or tapes in superfluous packaging, shipping large numbers of " "them around the world, and storing them for sale. This cost is presented as " "an expense of doing business; in truth, it is part of the waste caused by " "having owners." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Damaging Social Cohesion" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Suppose that both you and your neighbor would find it useful to run a " "certain program. In ethical concern for your neighbor, you should feel that " "proper handling of the situation will enable both of you to use it. A " "proposal to permit only one of you to use the program, while restraining the " "other, is divisive; neither you nor your neighbor should find it acceptable." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Signing a typical software license agreement means betraying your neighbor: " "“I promise to deprive my neighbor of this program so that I can have a " "copy for myself.” People who make such choices feel internal " "psychological pressure to justify them, by downgrading the importance of " "helping one's neighbors—thus public spirit suffers. This is " "psychosocial harm associated with the material harm of discouraging use of " "the program." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Many users unconsciously recognize the wrong of refusing to share, so they " "decide to ignore the licenses and laws, and share programs anyway. But they " "often feel guilty about doing so. They know that they must break the laws " "in order to be good neighbors, but they still consider the laws " "authoritative, and they conclude that being a good neighbor (which they are) " "is naughty or shameful. That is also a kind of psychosocial harm, but one " "can escape it by deciding that these licenses and laws have no moral force." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Programmers also suffer psychosocial harm knowing that many users will not " "be allowed to use their work. This leads to an attitude of cynicism or " "denial. A programmer may describe enthusiastically the work that he finds " "technically exciting; then when asked, “Will I be permitted to use " "it?”, his face falls, and he admits the answer is no. To avoid " "feeling discouraged, he either ignores this fact most of the time or adopts " "a cynical stance designed to minimize the importance of it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Since the age of Reagan, the greatest scarcity in the United States is not " "technical innovation, but rather the willingness to work together for the " "public good. It makes no sense to encourage the former at the expense of " "the latter." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Obstructing Custom Adaptation of Programs" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The second level of material harm is the inability to adapt programs. The " "ease of modification of software is one of its great advantages over older " "technology. But most commercially available software isn't available for " "modification, even after you buy it. It's available for you to take it or " "leave it, as a black box—that is all." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "A program that you can run consists of a series of numbers whose meaning is " "obscure. No one, not even a good programmer, can easily change the numbers " "to make the program do something different." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Programmers normally work with the “source code” for a program, " "which is written in a programming language such as Fortran or C. It uses " "names to designate the data being used and the parts of the program, and it " "represents operations with symbols such as ‘+’ for addition and " "‘-’ for subtraction. It is designed to help programmers read " "and change programs. Here is an example; a program to calculate the " "distance between two points in a plane:" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <pre> #, no-wrap msgid "" " float\n" " distance (p0, p1)\n" " struct point p0, p1;\n" " {\n" " float xdist = p1.x - p0.x;\n" " float ydist = p1.y - p0.y;\n" " return sqrt (xdist * xdist + ydist * ydist);\n" " }\n" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Precisely what that source code means is not the point; the point is that it " "looks like algebra, and a person who knows this programming language will " "find it meaningful and clear. By contrast, here is same program in " "executable form, on the computer I normally used when I wrote this:" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <pre> #, no-wrap msgid "" " 1314258944 -232267772 -231844864 1634862\n" " 1411907592 -231844736 2159150 1420296208\n" " -234880989 -234879837 -234879966 -232295424\n" " 1644167167 -3214848 1090581031 1962942495\n" " 572518958 -803143692 1314803317\n" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Source code is useful (at least potentially) to every user of a program. But " "most users are not allowed to have copies of the source code. Usually the " "source code for a proprietary program is kept secret by the owner, lest " "anybody else learn something from it. Users receive only the files of " "incomprehensible numbers that the computer will execute. This means that " "only the program's owner can change the program." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "A friend once told me of working as a programmer in a bank for about six " "months, writing a program similar to something that was commercially " "available. She believed that if she could have gotten source code for that " "commercially available program, it could easily have been adapted to their " "needs. The bank was willing to pay for this, but was not permitted " "to—the source code was a secret. So she had to do six months of " "make-work, work that counts in the GNP but was actually waste." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The <abbr title=\"Massachusetts Institute of Technology\">MIT</abbr> " "Artificial Intelligence Lab (AI Lab) received a graphics printer as a gift " "from Xerox around 1977. It was run by free software to which we added many " "convenient features. For example, the software would notify a user " "immediately on completion of a print job. Whenever the printer had trouble, " "such as a paper jam or running out of paper, the software would immediately " "notify all users who had print jobs queued. These features facilitated " "smooth operation." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Later Xerox gave the AI Lab a newer, faster printer, one of the first laser " "printers. It was driven by proprietary software that ran in a separate " "dedicated computer, so we couldn't add any of our favorite features. We " "could arrange to send a notification when a print job was sent to the " "dedicated computer, but not when the job was actually printed (and the delay " "was usually considerable). There was no way to find out when the job was " "actually printed; you could only guess. And no one was informed when there " "was a paper jam, so the printer often went for an hour without being fixed." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The system programmers at the AI Lab were capable of fixing such problems, " "probably as capable as the original authors of the program. Xerox was " "uninterested in fixing them, and chose to prevent us, so we were forced to " "accept the problems. They were never fixed." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Most good programmers have experienced this frustration. The bank could " "afford to solve the problem by writing a new program from scratch, but a " "typical user, no matter how skilled, can only give up." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Giving up causes psychosocial harm—to the spirit of self-reliance. It " "is demoralizing to live in a house that you cannot rearrange to suit your " "needs. It leads to resignation and discouragement, which can spread to " "affect other aspects of one's life. People who feel this way are unhappy " "and do not do good work." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Imagine what it would be like if recipes were hoarded in the same fashion as " "software. You might say, “How do I change this recipe to take out the " "salt?” and the great chef would respond, “How dare you insult my " "recipe, the child of my brain and my palate, by trying to tamper with it? " "You don't have the judgment to change my recipe and make it work " "right!”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "“But my doctor says I'm not supposed to eat salt! What can I do? Will " "you take out the salt for me?”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "“I would be glad to do that; my fee is only $50,000.” Since the " "owner has a monopoly on changes, the fee tends to be large. “However, " "right now I don't have time. I am busy with a commission to design a new " "recipe for ship's biscuit for the Navy Department. I might get around to " "you in about two years.”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Obstructing Software Development" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The third level of material harm affects software development. Software " "development used to be an evolutionary process, where a person would take an " "existing program and rewrite parts of it for one new feature, and then " "another person would rewrite parts to add another feature; in some cases, " "this continued over a period of twenty years. Meanwhile, parts of the " "program would be “cannibalized” to form the beginnings of other " "programs." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The existence of owners prevents this kind of evolution, making it necessary " "to start from scratch when developing a program. It also prevents new " "practitioners from studying existing programs to learn useful techniques or " "even how large programs can be structured." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Owners also obstruct education. I have met bright students in computer " "science who have never seen the source code of a large program. They may be " "good at writing small programs, but they can't begin to learn the different " "skills of writing large ones if they can't see how others have done it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "In any intellectual field, one can reach greater heights by standing on the " "shoulders of others. But that is no longer generally allowed in the " "software field—you can only stand on the shoulders of the other people " "<em>in your own company</em>." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The associated psychosocial harm affects the spirit of scientific " "cooperation, which used to be so strong that scientists would cooperate even " "when their countries were at war. In this spirit, Japanese oceanographers " "abandoning their lab on an island in the Pacific carefully preserved their " "work for the invading U.S. Marines, and left a note asking them to take good " "care of it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Conflict for profit has destroyed what international conflict spared. " "Nowadays scientists in many fields don't publish enough in their papers to " "enable others to replicate the experiment. They publish only enough to let " "readers marvel at how much they were able to do. This is certainly true in " "computer science, where the source code for the programs reported on is " "usually secret." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "It Does Not Matter How Sharing Is Restricted" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I have been discussing the effects of preventing people from copying, " "changing, and building on a program. I have not specified how this " "obstruction is carried out, because that doesn't affect the conclusion. " "Whether it is done by copy protection, or copyright, or licenses, or " "encryption, or <acronym title=\"Read-only Memory\">ROM</acronym> cards, or " "hardware serial numbers, if it <em>succeeds</em> in preventing use, it does " "harm." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Users do consider some of these methods more obnoxious than others. I " "suggest that the methods most hated are those that accomplish their " "objective." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Software Should be Free" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I have shown how ownership of a program—the power to restrict changing " "or copying it—is obstructive. Its negative effects are widespread and " "important. It follows that society shouldn't have owners for programs." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Another way to understand this is that what society needs is free software, " "and proprietary software is a poor substitute. Encouraging the substitute " "is not a rational way to get what we need." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Vaclav Havel has advised us to “Work for something because it is good, " "not just because it stands a chance to succeed.” A business making " "proprietary software stands a chance of success in its own narrow terms, but " "it is not what is good for society." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "Why People Will Develop Software" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "If we eliminate copyright as a means of encouraging people to develop " "software, at first less software will be developed, but that software will " "be more useful. It is not clear whether the overall delivered user " "satisfaction will be less; but if it is, or if we wish to increase it " "anyway, there are other ways to encourage development, just as there are " "ways besides toll booths to raise money for streets. Before I talk about how " "that can be done, first I want to question how much artificial encouragement " "is truly necessary." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Programming is Fun" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "There are some lines of work that few will enter except for money; road " "construction, for example. There are other fields of study and art in which " "there is little chance to become rich, which people enter for their " "fascination or their perceived value to society. Examples include " "mathematical logic, classical music, and archaeology; and political " "organizing among working people. People compete, more sadly than bitterly, " "for the few funded positions available, none of which is funded very well. " "They may even pay for the chance to work in the field, if they can afford " "to." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Such a field can transform itself overnight if it begins to offer the " "possibility of getting rich. When one worker gets rich, others demand the " "same opportunity. Soon all may demand large sums of money for doing what " "they used to do for pleasure. When another couple of years go by, everyone " "connected with the field will deride the idea that work would be done in the " "field without large financial returns. They will advise social planners to " "ensure that these returns are possible, prescribing special privileges, " "powers, and monopolies as necessary to do so." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This change happened in the field of computer programming in the 1980s. In " "the 1970s, there were articles on “computer addiction”: users " "were “onlining” and had hundred-dollar-a-week habits. It was " "generally understood that people frequently loved programming enough to " "break up their marriages. Today, it is generally understood that no one " "would program except for a high rate of pay. People have forgotten what they " "knew back then." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "When it is true at a given time that most people will work in a certain " "field only for high pay, it need not remain true. The dynamic of change can " "run in reverse, if society provides an impetus. If we take away the " "possibility of great wealth, then after a while, when the people have " "readjusted their attitudes, they will once again be eager to work in the " "field for the joy of accomplishment." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The question “How can we pay programmers?” becomes an easier " "question when we realize that it's not a matter of paying them a fortune. A " "mere living is easier to raise." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "Funding Free Software" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Institutions that pay programmers do not have to be software houses. Many " "other institutions already exist that can do this." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Hardware manufacturers find it essential to support software development " "even if they cannot control the use of the software. In 1970, much of their " "software was free because they did not consider restricting it. Today, their " "increasing willingness to join consortiums shows their realization that " "owning the software is not what is really important for them." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Universities conduct many programming projects. Today they often sell the " "results, but in the 1970s they did not. Is there any doubt that " "universities would develop free software if they were not allowed to sell " "software? These projects could be supported by the same government contracts " "and grants that now support proprietary software development." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "It is common today for university researchers to get grants to develop a " "system, develop it nearly to the point of completion and call that " "“finished”, and then start companies where they really finish " "the project and make it usable. Sometimes they declare the unfinished " "version “free”; if they are thoroughly corrupt, they instead get " "an exclusive license from the university. This is not a secret; it is " "openly admitted by everyone concerned. Yet if the researchers were not " "exposed to the temptation to do these things, they would still do their " "research." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Programmers writing free software can make their living by selling services " "related to the software. I have been hired to port the <a " "href=\"/software/gcc/\">GNU C compiler</a> to new hardware, and to make " "user-interface extensions to <a href=\"/software/emacs/\">GNU Emacs</a>. (I " "offer these improvements to the public once they are done.) I also teach " "classes for which I am paid." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I am not alone in working this way; there is now a successful, growing " "corporation which does no other kind of work. Several other companies also " "provide commercial support for the free software of the GNU system. This is " "the beginning of the independent software support industry—an industry " "that could become quite large if free software becomes prevalent. It " "provides users with an option generally unavailable for proprietary " "software, except to the very wealthy." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "New institutions such as the <a href=\"/fsf/fsf.html\">Free Software " "Foundation</a> can also fund programmers. Most of the Foundation's funds " "come from users buying tapes through the mail. The software on the tapes is " "free, which means that every user has the freedom to copy it and change it, " "but many nonetheless pay to get copies. (Recall that “free " "software” refers to freedom, not to price.) Some users who already " "have a copy order tapes as a way of making a contribution they feel we " "deserve. The Foundation also receives sizable donations from computer " "manufacturers." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The Free Software Foundation is a charity, and its income is spent on hiring " "as many programmers as possible. If it had been set up as a business, " "distributing the same free software to the public for the same fee, it would " "now provide a very good living for its founder." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Because the Foundation is a charity, programmers often work for the " "Foundation for half of what they could make elsewhere. They do this because " "we are free of bureaucracy, and because they feel satisfaction in knowing " "that their work will not be obstructed from use. Most of all, they do it " "because programming is fun. In addition, volunteers have written many " "useful programs for us. (Even technical writers have begun to volunteer.)" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This confirms that programming is among the most fascinating of all fields, " "along with music and art. We don't have to fear that no one will want to " "program." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "What Do Users Owe to Developers?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "There is a good reason for users of software to feel a moral obligation to " "contribute to its support. Developers of free software are contributing to " "the users' activities, and it is both fair and in the long-term interest of " "the users to give them funds to continue." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "However, this does not apply to proprietary software developers, since " "obstructionism deserves a punishment rather than a reward." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "We thus have a paradox: the developer of useful software is entitled to the " "support of the users, but any attempt to turn this moral obligation into a " "requirement destroys the basis for the obligation. A developer can either " "deserve a reward or demand it, but not both." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I believe that an ethical developer faced with this paradox must act so as " "to deserve the reward, but should also entreat the users for voluntary " "donations. Eventually the users will learn to support developers without " "coercion, just as they have learned to support public radio and television " "stations." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "What Is Software Productivity?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "If software were free, there would still be programmers, but perhaps fewer " "of them. Would this be bad for society?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Not necessarily. Today the advanced nations have fewer farmers than in " "1900, but we do not think this is bad for society, because the few deliver " "more food to the consumers than the many used to do. We call this improved " "productivity. Free software would require far fewer programmers to satisfy " "the demand, because of increased software productivity at all levels:" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "Wider use of each program that is developed." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "" "The ability to adapt existing programs for customization instead of starting " "from scratch." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "Better education of programmers." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ul><li> msgid "The elimination of duplicate development effort." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Those who object to cooperation claiming it would result in the employment " "of fewer programmers are actually objecting to increased productivity. Yet " "these people usually accept the widely held belief that the software " "industry needs increased productivity. How is this?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "“Software productivity” can mean two different things: the " "overall productivity of all software development, or the productivity of " "individual projects. Overall productivity is what society would like to " "improve, and the most straightforward way to do this is to eliminate the " "artificial obstacles to cooperation which reduce it. But researchers who " "study the field of “software productivity” focus only on the " "second, limited, sense of the term, where improvement requires difficult " "technological advances." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "Is Competition Inevitable?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Is it inevitable that people will try to compete, to surpass their rivals in " "society? Perhaps it is. But competition itself is not harmful; the harmful " "thing is <em>combat</em>." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "There are many ways to compete. Competition can consist of trying to " "achieve ever more, to outdo what others have done. For example, in the old " "days, there was competition among programming wizards—competition for " "who could make the computer do the most amazing thing, or for who could make " "the shortest or fastest program for a given task. This kind of competition " "can benefit everyone, <em>as long as</em> the spirit of good sportsmanship " "is maintained." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Constructive competition is enough competition to motivate people to great " "efforts. A number of people are competing to be the first to have visited " "all the countries on Earth; some even spend fortunes trying to do this. But " "they do not bribe ship captains to strand their rivals on desert islands. " "They are content to let the best person win." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Competition becomes combat when the competitors begin trying to impede each " "other instead of advancing themselves—when “Let the best person " "win” gives way to “Let me win, best or not.” Proprietary " "software is harmful, not because it is a form of competition, but because it " "is a form of combat among the citizens of our society." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Competition in business is not necessarily combat. For example, when two " "grocery stores compete, their entire effort is to improve their own " "operations, not to sabotage the rival. But this does not demonstrate a " "special commitment to business ethics; rather, there is little scope for " "combat in this line of business short of physical violence. Not all areas " "of business share this characteristic. Withholding information that could " "help everyone advance is a form of combat." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Business ideology does not prepare people to resist the temptation to combat " "the competition. Some forms of combat have been banned with antitrust laws, " "truth in advertising laws, and so on, but rather than generalizing this to a " "principled rejection of combat in general, executives invent other forms of " "combat which are not specifically prohibited. Society's resources are " "squandered on the economic equivalent of factional civil war." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "“Why Don't You Move to Russia?”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "In the United States, any advocate of other than the most extreme form of " "laissez-faire selfishness has often heard this accusation. For example, it " "is leveled against the supporters of a national health care system, such as " "is found in all the other industrialized nations of the free world. It is " "leveled against the advocates of public support for the arts, also universal " "in advanced nations. The idea that citizens have any obligation to the " "public good is identified in America with Communism. But how similar are " "these ideas?" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Communism as was practiced in the Soviet Union was a system of central " "control where all activity was regimented, supposedly for the common good, " "but actually for the sake of the members of the Communist party. And where " "copying equipment was closely guarded to prevent illegal copying." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "The American system of software copyright exercises central control over " "distribution of a program, and guards copying equipment with automatic " "copying-protection schemes to prevent illegal copying." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "By contrast, I am working to build a system where people are free to decide " "their own actions; in particular, free to help their neighbors, and free to " "alter and improve the tools which they use in their daily lives. A system " "based on voluntary cooperation and on decentralization." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Thus, if we are to judge views by their resemblance to Russian Communism, it " "is the software owners who are the Communists." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "The Question of Premises" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "I make the assumption in this paper that a user of software is no less " "important than an author, or even an author's employer. In other words, " "their interests and needs have equal weight, when we decide which course of " "action is best." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "This premise is not universally accepted. Many maintain that an author's " "employer is fundamentally more important than anyone else. They say, for " "example, that the purpose of having owners of software is to give the " "author's employer the advantage he deserves—regardless of how this may " "affect the public." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "It is no use trying to prove or disprove these premises. Proof requires " "shared premises. So most of what I have to say is addressed only to those " "who share the premises I use, or at least are interested in what their " "consequences are. For those who believe that the owners are more important " "than everyone else, this paper is simply irrelevant." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "But why would a large number of Americans accept a premise that elevates " "certain people in importance above everyone else? Partly because of the " "belief that this premise is part of the legal traditions of American " "society. Some people feel that doubting the premise means challenging the " "basis of society." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "It is important for these people to know that this premise is not part of " "our legal tradition. It never has been." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Thus, the Constitution says that the purpose of copyright is to " "“promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts.” The " "Supreme Court has elaborated on this, stating in <em>Fox Film v. Doyal</em>; " "that “The sole interest of the United States and the primary object in " "conferring the [copyright] monopoly lie in the general benefits derived by " "the public from the labors of authors.”" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "We are not required to agree with the Constitution or the Supreme Court. " "(At one time, they both condoned slavery.) So their positions do not " "disprove the owner supremacy premise. But I hope that the awareness that " "this is a radical right-wing assumption rather than a traditionally " "recognized one will weaken its appeal." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "Conclusion" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "We like to think that our society encourages helping your neighbor; but each " "time we reward someone for obstructionism, or admire them for the wealth " "they have gained in this way, we are sending the opposite message." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "Software hoarding is one form of our general willingness to disregard the " "welfare of society for personal gain. We can trace this disregard from " "Ronald Reagan to Dick Cheney, from Exxon to Enron, from failing banks to " "failing schools. We can measure it with the size of the homeless population " "and the prison population. The antisocial spirit feeds on itself, because " "the more we see that other people will not help us, the more it seems futile " "to help them. Thus society decays into a jungle." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <p> msgid "" "If we don't want to live in a jungle, we must change our attitudes. We must " "start sending the message that a good citizen is one who cooperates when " "appropriate, not one who is successful at taking from others. I hope that " "the free software movement will contribute to this: at least in one area, we " "will replace the jungle with a more efficient system which encourages and " "runs on voluntary cooperation." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h3> msgid "Footnotes" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ol><li> msgid "" "The word “free” in “free software” refers to " "freedom, not to price; the price paid for a copy of a free program may be " "zero, or small, or (rarely) quite large." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ol><li> msgid "" "The issues of pollution and traffic congestion do not alter this " "conclusion. If we wish to make driving more expensive to discourage driving " "in general, it is disadvantageous to do this using toll booths, which " "contribute to both pollution and congestion. A tax on gasoline is much " "better. Likewise, a desire to enhance safety by limiting maximum speed is " "not relevant; a free-access road enhances the average speed by avoiding " "stops and delays, for any given speed limit." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <ol><li> msgid "" "One might regard a particular computer program as a harmful thing that " "should not be available at all, like the Lotus Marketplace database of " "personal information, which was withdrawn from sale due to public " "disapproval. Most of what I say does not apply to this case, but it makes " "little sense to argue for having an owner on the grounds that the owner will " "make the program less available. The owner will not make it " "<em>completely</em> unavailable, as one would wish in the case of a program " "whose use is considered destructive." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <h4> msgid "" "This essay is published in <a " "href=\"http://shop.fsf.org/product/free-software-free-society/\"><cite>Free " "Software, Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard " "M. Stallman</cite></a>" msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't have notes. #. type: Content of: <div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S NOTES*" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a " "href=\"mailto:address@hidden"><address@hidden></a>. There are also <a " "href=\"/contact/\">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and " "other corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a " "href=\"mailto:address@hidden"><address@hidden></a>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, #. replace it with the translation of these two: # #. We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality #. translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. #. Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard #. to <a href="mailto:address@hidden"> # #. <address@hidden></a>.</p> # #. <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of #. our web pages, see <a #. href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations #. README</a>. #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Please see the <a " "href=\"/server/standards/README.translations.html\">Translations README</a> " "for information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2010 Free " "Software Foundation, Inc." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "This page is licensed under a <a rel=\"license\" " "href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/\">Creative Commons " "Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't want credits. #. type: Content of: <div><div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S CREDITS*" msgstr "" #. timestamp start #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "Updated:" msgstr ""