Free Software: The future of political economy in software and culture

(Research Seminar, October 3rd, 2002)

Eben Moglen
Columbia University Law School

Abstract

The free software model for producing and distributing executable bitstreams is transforming the global software and "content" industries.  What was regarded even in the mid- to late-1990s as a marginal aspect of software industry practice is now a central concern of the largest marketplace participants.  Governments - both in their roles as software acquirers and as regulators of the hardware and consumer electronics marketplaces - are also now directly engaged in the consequences of the free software revolution.  The proprietary model of software production, typified by the existing operating system monopoly, is now dying.  The entertainment "content" industries are facing an inevitable reorganization of profoundly destabilizing proportions.  In this talk I consider the next stages of this process, focusing on the behavior of the anarchist production community, governments, hardware manufacturers, the Microsoft monopoly and the entertainment industries as antagonistic actors differentially attempting to restabilize the software production system in the face of inevitable transformation.  Disparities of culture and intention in the global system are critical to an understanding of the likely outcomes.