Balaka Baruah Aggarwal
NEW DELHI: He twirls his curls while he talks. He talks about profound
principles in the same breath as he rushes to execute the most mundane job of
answering the phone. He is absent minded enough to forget his visiting cards or
to wad around the nondescript guesthouse in his socks. Dr Richard M Stallman,
founder of the Free Software Movement strikes you as the quintessential mad
intellectual. Brilliant, idealistic and perhaps a little removed from reality.
He speaks with passion about the philosophy behind the free software
movement. Stallman explains patiently that his philosophy stems from a much
deeper political affiliation of total individual freedom. "It is to do with
the way people live their lives and not allow others to trample on their rights
to do things the way they want to", he said.
A graduate in Physics in 1985, Stallman worked with MIT for a long time
before he gave it all up because he was "disgusted" at the way people
were working towards success. "The moment success becomes your objective,
you start talking of proprietary software which implies controlling other
people's lives and that is not correct", he said.
He started the Free Software Movement in 1985 with the intention of
developing a complete range of free software applications--the platform is
called GNU/Linux--making proprietary software redundant in the process.
"You see when we develop software we assume it will help people to do
things in many different ways so that at the end of it we have a better world to
live in. If we make software proprietary it will limit the options before people
and not provide the freedom with their lives. Proprietary software reflects an
inherent desire to control and run people's life and that is wrong. Free
software movement is a social goal", he added.
Multinational software companies would be hating his guts. He is clearly a
man under scrutiny. And he is used to his philosophy being questioned. He is
guarded about the way phrases are used in addressing questions. "Please
phrase your questions in a neutral manner. Please do not use phrases like
'aren't you" or "don't you think" as they attribute prejudices
which are not mine?," as he responds to a query.
He hates words like pirated software. "Words like piracy is a smear.
Piracy is attacking ships and robbing people. If you make a copy of your
software for your neighbor that's not piracy," he said. (The multinationals
would be braying for his blood on this one.)
"Using proprietary software is bad enough. If you make a copy of the
proprietary software and give it to your neighbor at least you will not be a
party to the predators who make money by trampling on people's freedom", he
added.
He rejects phrases like human capital because it has inherent economic
intonations. Economic considerations bring about social inequality creating
conditions where exploiting people for profit making becomes acceptable. Success
in this context is assessed by how much material fulfillment can be achieved
through such means.
He has set very tall philosophical ideology, which many of his associates
have found difficult to live upto. Stallman was disappointed when he found that
Debian--one of the companies, which he had chosen to work with--had used
expressions that had ambiguous meanings. Debain eventually led the way for the
distortion of the free software movement leading to the emergence of the Open
Source movement. Stallman denounces any links with the open source code
movement.
Can ideology compensate for the basic needs, which can be derived only
through money? "There is nothing wrong in making profits but you have to
find ways in which you do not impinge on the freedom of others", he said.
For instance, one could make customized software for specific needs of users and
charge it.
Stallman could have made packets out of his inventions. His first achievement
was in developing the E-Max Editor in 1975 which was the first program to allow
users to make changes according to his needs. But money was certainly not his
trip
Stallman, a bachelor, is a man of simple tastes. He likes good music, food
and appreciates butterflies. He chips in, "I am particularly fond of
parrots, tamed ones. Sometimes, I play my flute and they listen. Imagine playing
music to a bird. I like that."
He has visited India several times in the recent past and believes that
Indians have responded to his ideology more positively than a lot of other
people. He attributes this to India's cultural and philosophical heritage along
with the huge popularity of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi.