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proposed reply to
https://lobste.rs/s/jtsabz/what_gnu#c_mozm8i
(Warning, pig-Marxist vocabulary ahead)
I don't doubt that "capital" (represented by corporations who use software to extract profits) benefit from permissive licenses, as opposed to Free/Libre ones that put the interests of "workers" (software developers and users) first.
There is a movement online that sees all attacks on the FSF and the GNU project as propaganda paid for by Big Tech, but I honestly think the division is built-in the developer community. RMS (and FSF) have been widely derided for *decades* at this point. The philosophical rift is fundamental between those that espouse the libertarian ideal (the permissive camp) and those that believe that restrictions are needed to avoid the labor of software developers from being exploited (Free/Libre camp). Coupled with RMS' utter disregard for any other viewpoints other than his own, FSF/GNU is under a massive handicap.
It's my view that if Linus (at the time a young man quite far away from the political atmosphere of the US) had *not* decided to use GNU as a userland, the FSF/GNU project would be even more marginalized than it already is. Against all odds, Linux is a massive success, dragging GNU along with it.
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