We publish below two letters reacting to the recently published article Bill Gates, saviour of the world?. We seize the opportunity to call on left-wing programmers and anti-capitalist people with an interest in computer technology in general all over the world to get in touch. As said before, we plan to write more on this matter in the near future. Given the technological possibilities these days (email, discussion forums, wikis), we think future articles can only become better with the collaboration of experts all over the world. Please write to maarten {[at]} marxist.com
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Hi Maarten,
I enjoyed your article on Bill Gates and look forward to your forthcoming articles on Free Software, GNU/Linux and patents. As a programmer with an interest in free software I'd be happy to proof-read/fact check your future articles on the subject (although you seem fully aware of the technical shibboleths and still manage to explain clearly).
Fraternal regards,
Steve Glass
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Mr. Vanheuverswyn,
Thank you very much for your recent article on Bill Gates. It is a fine example of the high quality of Marxist analysis available at Marxist.com, and is a rarity in that it addresses technological issues from a Marxist standpoint.
As an avid computer user I especially appreciated its content, including the historical rundown and the current state of consumers’ knowledge about software choices. I am also glad to see that the site will be further addressing personal computer issues in a revolutionary direction.
> What is needed is a transfer of all available computer technology to a form of
> social ownership, linked with a democratic world socialist government that
> would finally put all available resources and technology to the public’s use.
> That, in turn, requires a socialist transformation of society that would
> abolish the profit system and establish a worldwide democratically controlled
> economic system where production is based on the needs of mankind.
I agree entirely with the entirety of the quote above, from your article. I would like to submit that the communications infrastructure for carrying out a worldwide revolution to a world socialist government is already largely in place. I also realize that this may be a statement of the obvious.
I think that any computer capable of Internet access, with email and web capabilities, would be sufficient for enabling participation in this worldwide revolution. Much of the social momentum has been generated already, with email-driven listserves and free (Linux-based) servers providing the architecture for revolutionary processes of the future to unfold. As the crisis of imperialism continues to deepen, I think the world will see a quickening pace towards addressing and resolving local and global issues as worker-centric issues, with a resultant and permanent shift away from private ownership.
Please see the following listserve as an example. http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-chicago-working/
Thanks again! Yours in struggle,
Chris Kaihatsu
(Chicago, IL)