What is Free Software?

Proprietary software tends to have malicious features that give the developer unjust power over its users². For example, Microsoft Windows has a universal backdoor through which it is possible³ to remotely enforce any change in user's computer. In Windows 10, this backdoor is no longer hidden, and all updates have been made⁴ mandatory and forced.

Proprietary software also enables censorship and the creation of jailed devices. For example, the tech corporate giant Apple censored⁵ an app that reports on US drone assassinations. Whether or not the political causes that Apple supports are justified or not, such proprietary software puts these companies in a position of unjust power over a helpless user and should not exist.

Digital handcuffs in proprietary devices and software – such as Digital Rights Management (DRM) locks over e-books – enforce arbitrary restrictions on sharing as well as the use, of audio, video and other media in the name of copyright protection.

This practice has even entered the world of physical devices. For instance, the automobile giant Renault introduced⁶ a modification in the design of their batteries which allows them to remotely prevent the battery from charging. Such power over users' devices is unacceptable, and has potential for misuse by unethical corporations and authoritarian governments.

Other than such intentionally introduced bugs and / or backdoor channels, many proprietary software have been found to contain unintentional bugs and insecurities in their code that have possible grave consequences. For example, vulnerabilities have been found⁷ in hospital drug pumps that can be misused by hackers to administer fatal doses to patients.

Even though all non-trivial software have bugs, the developers of proprietary software often deny their existence or even brush them aside in the fear that it would tarnish the reputation of their firm. Even if users of these software come to notice the bugs, they are helpless in fixing them. On the other hand, any bugs in free software can be fixed quickly because the entire source code is made available for anyone to scrutinize, report and / or fix the bugs themselves.

There are a lot of different ways to make money from free software. Many companies use the available free software, build on it to develop an advanced or modified custom software and sell it at a price. For these companies, free software libraries and programs are valuable resources from which to build on, without having to pay for restrictive proprietary licenses. On the other hand, companies like RedHat make free software, but IT services for those software are provided for a price.

Many free software projects such as VLC, Debian GNU / Linux are community run non - profits and depend on donations. Some non-profits such as the Free Software Foundation also get a part of their revenue selling hard copies of software manuals, books, and other promotional gear. Projects such as WordPress support themselves by providing hosting services for their software for a price.

Free software is extremely useful for budding start-ups, even to those that make proprietary software. Even web giants such as Google and Facebook heavily utilize the available free software to build their services. In fact, these giants could never have existed in the first place without free software. While it is good that such web service providers have their freedom, it is much more important that all computer users have their freedom too, and the latter is a state worth promoting and working towards.

The paradigm⁸ of competition is analogous to a race: by rewarding the winner, we encourage everyone to run faster. When capitalism really works this way, it does a good job; but its defenders are wrong in assuming that it always works this way.

If the runners forget why the reward is offered and become intent on winning, no matter how, they may use other strategies to win - such as, attacking other runners. If the runners get into a fist fight, they will all finish late. Proprietary software is the moral equivalent of runners in a fist fight. The only referee to we have, to settle such fights, is the government which does not seem to object to fights and just regulates them - "For every ten yards you run, you can fire one shot". Ideally, the government ought to break up the fights, and penalize runners for trying to fight.

Free software is often popularly called open source software. "Open source" is a de-politicized term that takes the focus away from larger political and ethical issues of software freedom. Supporters of "open source" generally focus only on the improved quality of software developed through public collaboration and ignore the issues of freedom concerning software. This results in a loss of our freedoms. Hence it is essential to use the term "free software", and not "open source".

Even though the free software movement is filled with individuals with different political inclinations - capitalist, communist, anarchist, etc., its philosophical underpinnings are by no means limited to or applicable only to any one of those ideologies.

In today's oligopolistic and monopolistic capitalism, it is easy to forget that a healthy capitalism needs perfect competition where individuals are free to enter the market with their own products. But, Proprietary software prevents healty market competition by establishing monopolies. On the contrary, free software allows any small software company in a little town to quickly develop their own products without having to start from scratch. Thus free software actually empowers individuals and creates a healthy market.