If you are a software developer (this includes web developers) or a designer the nature of the work you do is philosophically aligned with the so-called “liberal” or Democratic agenda. Just look at the work developers do and see under what circumstances our businesses thrive and think about the general ideals the Democratic and Republican parties ascribe to.
Firstly, software developers know all about infrastructure, and the need for investment in infrastructure, probably more than most. Our infrastructure is built thanks in large part to Open Source initiatives. The underlying concept behind Open Source is that these projects provide a platform for others to work off of. Here is a quote from the Apache Foundation, explaining why their software is free:
“We believe that the tools of online publishing should be in the hands of everyone, and that software companies should make their money by providing value-added services such as specialized modules and support, amongst other things. We realize that it is often seen as an economic advantage for one company to “own” a market - in the software industry, that means to control tightly a particular conduit such that all others must pay for its use. This is typically done by “owning” the protocols through which companies conduct business, at the expense of all those other companies. To the extent that the protocols of the World Wide Web remain “unowned” by a single company, the Web will remain a level playing field for companies large and small. Thus, “ownership” of the protocols must be prevented. To this end, the existence of robust reference implementations of various protocols and application programming interfaces, available free to all companies and individuals, is a tremendously good thing.”
The Apache HTTP server is the most popular HTTP server on the Web. Hundreds of projects have been made available under the terms of the Apache License.
Software developers know that the more you invest (in terms of both time and money) in Open Source projects, the more people can reap the rewards. Take a look at WordPress. WordPress has inspired more industry than I could over hope to really understand. Professional bloggers, advertisers, theme-designers, plugin makers--they all generate income thanks to this one Open Source project. Open Source is the infrastructure of our businesses and we know that when you invest in Open Source, the rewards are ten-fold. Designers, are you feeling left out? How many resources have you drawn upon that are protected by a Creative Commons license?
On the more expressly political side of this, take for instance the second Obama/McCain debate. The divisions between the Democrat and Republican were particularly stark on the issue of health care. McCain said he saw health care as a “responsibility” while Obama saw health care as a right. Those of us who take advantage of Open Source initiatives, who promote and invest in it, are defending our right to a creative commons.
The common line is that Open Source is not free as in beer, but free as in speech. Libre, not gratis. The right to distribute, modify, and use open source software is a right, much like Senator Obama believes health care is a right.
I believe that Barack Obama’s interest in building and providing social services is directly aligned with the web developer’s interest in providing the tools to online publishing to all. To say that these things are “socialist” or “welfare” do not take into account the myriad of opportunity that spring up from these investments. If you are a web developer or designer, you should cast your vote for Barack Obama on November 4th.
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