Free as in Freedom [Paperback]
Free as in Freedom [Paperback]

Author: Sam Williams

Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."

Published: 2011-11-30

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1449324649

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Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of the free software movement. It examines Stallman's unique personality and how that personality has been at turns a driving force and a drawback in terms of the movement's overall success. Free as in Freedom examines one man's 20-year attempt to codify and communicate the ethics of 1970s era "hacking" culture in such a way that later generations might easily share and build upon the knowledge of their computing forebears. The book documents Stallman's personal evolution from teenage misfit to prescient adult hacker to political leader and examines how that evolution has shaped the free software movement. Like Alan Greenspan in the financial sector, Richard Stallman has assumed the role of tribal elder within the hacking community, a community that bills itself as anarchic and averse to central leadership or authority. How did this paradox come about? Free as in Freedom provides an answer. It also looks at how the latest twists and turns in the software marketplace have diminished Stallman's leadership role in some areas while augmenting it in others. Finally, Free as in Freedom examines both Stallman and the free software movement from historical viewpoint. Will future generations see Stallman as a genius or crackpot? The answer to that question depends partly on which side of the free software debate the reader currently stands and partly upon the reader's own outlook for the future. 100 years from now, when terms such as "computer," "operating system" and perhaps even "software" itself seem hopelessly quaint, will Richard Stallman's particular vision of freedom still resonate, or will it have taken its place alongside other utopian concepts on the 'ash-heap of history?'

Sharing
Sharing

Author: Matthew David

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1509513248

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Today's economic system, premised on the sale of physical goods, does not fit the information age in which we live. The capitalist order requires the maintenance of an artificial scarcity in goods that have the potential for near infinite and almost free replication. The sharing of informational goods through distributed global networks – digital libraries, file–sharing, live–streaming, free software, free–access publishing, the free–sharing of scientific knowledge, and open-source pharmaceuticals – not only challenges the dominance of a scarcity–based economic system, but also enables a more efficient, innovative, just and free culture. In a series of seven explorations of contemporary sharing, Matthew David shows that in each case sharing surpasses markets, private ownership and intellectual property rights in fostering motivation, creativity, innovation, production, distribution and reward. In transforming the idea of an information economy into an information society, sharing connects struggles against inequality and poverty in developed and developing countries. Challenging taken-for-granted justifications of the status quo, Sharing debunks the 'tragedy of the commons' and makes the case for digital network sharing as a viable mode of economic counterpower, prefiguring a post–capitalist society.

Free Software, Free Society
Free Software, Free Society

Author: Richard Stallman

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 1882114981

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Essay Collection covering the point where software, law and social justice meet.

DOCAT
DOCAT

Author:

Publisher: Ignatius Press

Published: 2019-05-23

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1621640493

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DOCAT is "revealing the secret" to young people around the world. DOCAT helps young people to know and live Catholic Social Teaching. It's a great, practical follow up to YOUCAT, the hugely popular Youth Catechism, based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Drawing on Scripture, YOUCAT, the Catechism, and the Compendium of Catholic Social Teaching, DOCAT shows young people how to work toward building a "civilization of love". Features include: • Popular Q & A YOUCAT style, tackles tough questions about social justice and related issues • Lots of full-color photos with young people and others • Inspirational and insightful quotes , including comments from St John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict • Written with help from church leaders, business leaders, social activists, and young people • Guides young people in conscience formation and Catholic action on social and political issues

Voice, Agency and Resistance
Voice, Agency and Resistance

Author: Mark Nartey

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-03-31

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 100085180X

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Drawing on data from Africa, Latin America, North America, and the Arab Levant, this book demonstrates how members of marginalized (disempowered) groups sculpt a positive image for themselves, engage in solidarity formation for group empowerment, and (re)construct their experiences in a manner that gives them voice, agency, and a positive identity. It argues for a more interventionist stance in ideologically oriented discourse analysis and demonstrates why (critical) discourse analysts must not only expose and resist the inequities or injustices in society but, more crucially, also adopt an activist-scholar posture in order to push for positive social change. The book brings into focus: (a) how discourse can be used to center the voice and agency of minority groups, (b) how feminists re-make gender relations in our world, (c) how non-dominant groups actively resist injustices and discriminatory discourses directed against them, (d) how discourse can be used to advance the goals of repressed groups in order to instigate progressive social change, and (e) access to forms of discourse that can be empowering for marginalized groups’ participation in social domains. It will be of interest to postgraduate students and academics in (critical) discourse studies, communication, and media studies as well as non-academics such as activists, journalists, and sociopolitical commentators. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Critical Discourse Studies.

Anti-libertarianism
Anti-libertarianism

Author: Alan Haworth

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-09-27

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 1134890710

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Free marketeers claim that theirs is the only economic mechanism which respects and furthers human freedom. Socialism, they say, has been thoroughly discredited. Most libertarians treat the state in anything other than its minimal, 'nightwatchman' form as a repressive embodiment of evil. Some reject the state altogether. But is the 'free market idea' a rationally defensible belief? Or do its proponents fail to examine the philosophical roots of their so-called freedom? Anti-libertarianism takes a sceptical look at the conceptual tenets of free market politics. Alan Haworth argues that libertarianism is little more than an unfounded, quasi-religious statement of faith: a market romance. Moreover, libertarianism is exposed as profoundly antithetical to the very freedom which it purports to advance. This controversial book is for anyone interested in the cultural and political impact of free market policies on the modern world. It will be invaluable to students and specialists of political and economic theory, social science and philosophy.

Pressing for Freedom: 20 Years of World Press Freedom Day
Pressing for Freedom: 20 Years of World Press Freedom Day

Author: William Horsley

Publisher: UNESCO

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 9230011622

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The origins of World Press Freedom Day arise from a declaration signed by a group of African journalists who gathered at a UNESCO seminar on "Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Media" that was held in Windhoek, Namibia from 29 April to 3 May 1991. Subsequently, painstaking lobbying led to the proclamation of 3 May as an international day on press freedom by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993. This publication aims to commemorate the 20th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day by illuminating the trajectory of this important international event from its origins, following the historic Windhoek Declaration, to the present day. Issues of media freedom, safety of journalists, impunity, gender in the media, pluralism, independence and access to information, as well as the role of the Internet and other 21st century media developments are also covered.