A Good Citizen

Hosting a healthy open source community drives human development and financial independence on a national scale. Here's some benefits of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) you probably hadn't thought about.

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This episode is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Created by: Mathias Bolt Lesniak
Creative advisor: Jeffrey A. “jam” McGuire

Transcript

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Welcome to episode six …… of the Open Source Utopia Podcast. As a good citizen you don't just …… blindly follow the authorities, but you should strive to make society …… work to the benefit of everyone. You try to see beyond your own needs …… and contribute, also when it doesn't …… directly benefit you. Just as a country doesn't benefit from …… narrow-mindedness and egotism, open source projects thrive with …… with tolerance and selflessness.

Think about it: 0:40

Like other non-governmental organizations …… you might support, an open source project is a part of civil society. But, because people build their business life …… on top of open source, it's often more than just a hobby. The project's wellbeing becomes essential, and a healthy democracy in open source …… becomes as important as it is in a country. So, a strong civil society is a very good sign …… of a healthy democracy in a country. And I believe open source is an ideal tool …… for developing democracy world wide. We constantly need to be reminded… of what democracy really means. When governments use open source software, open source communities grow, and that strengthens the democratic practice …… in the country. Through its freedoms, open source also …… strengthens the financial independence of any …… country or business it touches. In the next episode, I'll talk about …… how independence supports equality,… another important prerequisite for democracy …… and, finally, peace.