If you try to look ANYTHING linux related on youtube, you probably will stumble on some right-winger. Some of them do have some helpful guides and they can expose unaware people to linux, but when you watch their takes on anything including linux, they are usually the most libertarian guys imaginable?? I have few thoughts why it might be the case, but I’m curious about what are you thinking. My thoughts are:
- it’s free, so they personally don’t have to pay for it, meaning more money for them?
- linux has better privacy and better access to dark web and they like privacy because they hate government because taxes and dark web because unlicensed guns i guess
- it’s appealing to them because it’s some sort of niche that makes them fill smarter and better than anyone else, like some sort of subculture?
- it’s not just linux it’s everywhere, and i’m just too focused on this
In any case it’s weird for me, linux and it’s open source nature feels like it would be much more appealing to left rather than to right, right?
It might be better to post this in c/technology but I wasn’t sure so i think it’s alright if I ask it here… Also it’s my first post here! I was just reading here for a while and finally got courage to ask this question that was sitting in my head for a while!
Most people do not have a coherent worldview but generally dislike big corporations. There is nothing inherently left about being non-corporate, even ancaps rail against what they call “corporatism”. So I’d guess some are in it because they (rightly) hate microsoft and google.
But also I’d say most people who have the time to endlessly talk about linux tend to be well-off and have the luxury of time to be able to research and talk about this stuff (not to mention having the time to troubleshoot Arch all day). They would naturally be more likely to hold rightist views by virtue of often being what might colloqually be called “middle class” coupled with being white cis men living in the imperial core.
But also I’d say most people who have the time to endlessly talk about linux tend to be well-off and have the luxury of time to be able to research and talk about this stuff (not to mention having the time to troubleshoot Arch all day). They would naturally be more likely to hold rightist views by virtue of often being what might colloqually be called “middle class” coupled with being white cis men living in the imperial core.
Conversely, could lack of time and the constant pressure explain reactionary views held by leftists?
Maybe, its fair to say that some people who should know better aren’t immune to holding beliefs purely because they happen to be popular opinion among their peers. Could also be that some never deprogrammed on certain things and simply took whatever reactionary view for granted.
The Free Software movement in the US has very deep libertarian origins. Stallman himself for the longest time rejected the notion that software development was an industry, treating it as a hobby, and the “four liberties” are notable in being personal negative liberties following the liberal framework of freedom. I think this philosophy is the main thing that holds the FOSS movement back, with a general aversion to involvement with state institutions and a pervasive feeling of “self-reliance” with being the master of one’s own box. I believe this is why we have hundreds of half-decent Linux distributions rather than one very good one.
I recommend reading Snow Crash as one really terrible sci-fi book that makes the weirdness of hacker culture very explicit.
Linux is generally used by techies, and techies IMO aren’t usually good at actually understanding politics and geopolitics, and thus very much exploitable by the right.
I wouldn’t judge Linux by the quality of its most visible users though. Linux and the FOSS ecosystem are an important factor for establishing digital sovereignty and thus independence from imperialist tech and influence. PRC, Russia and DPRK and even the EU are known to have at some point used FOSS to create alternative tech solutions to lessen their dependence om foreign tech and thus FOSS is still of more use to the left rather than to the right.
P.S. Welcome to Lemmygrad! Hope you enjoy it here!
Sorry, I didn’t meant it to sounds like I’m trying to disregard Linux and FOSS community!! I’m well aware of FOSS being useful for digital sovereignty! Also I really like FOSS myself!!! I was just curious about the most visible guys in western sphere…
Thank you for welcome!!
i think the software community in general is filled with libertarians: cryptobros and intellectual property afficianados &c. there was an article about it that was shared pretty widely in the 90s, called The Californian Ideology. i haven’t read it since i was a baby leftist so idk if it holds up. i remember some of the stuff being pretty out there but overall i really liked it.
Personally i think most libertarians are americans who get that the current system is broken and get that the two partues are more about power then doing whats right or smart but from there they lose tbe plot. They feel oppressed and taken advantage of and put that blame only on the state and put none of it on the large private organizations that effect them. Because of that they never really understand why capitalism is exploitative and get stuck in some ayn rand virtue id selfishness sillyness.
That being said they get part of the way there and their paranoia for the government serves them well in motivating having more secure systems and wanting to be as independent as possible. So they see the value in linux and pursue it.
I see alot of socialists and lefties in linux too but i dont often see your average republican or dem. Idk just my 2 cents
They think the bourgeois are too inclusive
linux has better privacy and better access to dark web and they like privacy because they hate government because taxes and dark web because unlicensed guns i guess
This, but I think csam is more likely. I became aware of this due to Josh Duggar case, right wing pedos using Linux to get around covenant eyes
