Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » The Old World of Software vs the New (Hegel lives)

December 31, 2006 | Comments: (0)

The Old World of Software vs the New (Hegel lives)

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I'm still plowing through Richardson's biography of William James, and came across a comment on Hegel that really struck me. Hegel, in a gross oversimplification, believed that history is a series of conflicts, directed by the Geist (spirit) inentrixably toward freedom - thesis, antithesis, synthesis. All conflicts lead toward a positive end of global freedom. As Hegel wrote, "The history of the world [Zeitgeist] is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom."

Very nice. What's not to like?

Much, if you're William James. The problem with seeing all conflict as mere disagreements that lead us ever onward toward freedom is that, unfortunately, it's not true. Some conflicts are real conflicts, with significant consequences depending on which way they go. In James' view, Hegelianism is pernicious because it encourages us

"to see the world good rather than to make it good" (Qtd. in Richardson, 216).

One of my wishes for 2007 is that we'll stop trying to gloss over the chasm that exists between open source and proprietary software. They are worlds apart in their mentalities and outcomes, for both vendors and buyers. On the vendor side, I think we do ourselves a huge disservice (and, hence, our customers) by failing to look forward to a New World of software, being so determined to keep our feet firmly planted in the way companies profit from software in the Old World. There is much to learn, yes, from existing software businesses. But we should be chary of trying to retrofit open source's new wine in the industry's old bottles.

I interviewed a very promising prospect two days ago. He works for an Old World, Old Bottle company. He believes the company can turn the corner and really become an open source, New World, New Bottle company. He's kidding himself. It can't.

This is why I have so much hope for Red Hat, MySQL, JBoss (now Red Hat), and other companies that have gone 100% open source. They have burned the boats and built themselves from the ground up as 100% open source companies. Red Hat spent years in the wilderness trying to figure out how to make the model work, and now has. Roadbumps and obstacles will persist, but the company has a new frame of thinking to guide itself through these challenges.

The future is open. Not because some Geist wills it, but because customers will it, and because we can make it happen. Open source does not require a vow of poverty. Nor, however, does it, like proprietary software, require customers to enter into indentured servitude contracts with vendors to get their IT (and why? Simply because the Old World could think of no better way to get people to pay for things than by locking them up, both customer and software).

To be an effective part of that future, one must burn the boats to the past. We have to do open source, not just think happy thoughts about it. That's William James.

Posted by Matt Asay on December 31, 2006 09:01 AM

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