Proprietary Software is Anti-Capitalist

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+---
+title: "Proprietary Software is Anti-Capitalist"
+date: 2020-11-17T07:26:15-05:00
+draft: false
+tags: [free-software, capitalism]
+---
+
+A theoretically perfect market under capitalism assumes that consumers have
+access to an infinite supply of producers. This allows consumers to inspect the
+market, and select the product that best fits their needs. In the long term,
+monopolies erode capitalism, because they meaningfully constrict the market and
+the options available to consumers. This means that consumers have limited
+access to a variety of products and services under a market controlled by a
+monopoly.
+
+A patent is a construct that grants a company a temporary monopoly to produce
+something. This is based on the assumption that guaranteed monopolistic power
+for a temporary period can encourage innovation. Some assume that proprietary
+software licencing can encourage innovation in a similar way. However this is
+not the case, because the proprietor of a piece of software actually has a
+permanent monopoly on the marketable actions to that software, such as
+distribution, repair, and modification.
+
+The key difference between Free Software and proprietary software for the
+average consumer is not that they have the right to view the source code and
+learn to repair or modify their own software. The difference is that the
+consumer can access an unrestricted market of software developers to make
+the modifications or repairs to the software that the consumer desires. This is
+no different than a consumer bringing their car their mechanic of choice in
+order to repair or modify their vehicle.
+
+Should you be interested in finding support for Free Software, or if you are
+interested in providing service, the [Free Software Foundation has put together
+a list of services](https://www.fsf.org/resources/service) that could provide
+assistance. You could also reach out to freelance software developers on sites
+like Fiverr, or Upwork.
+