Open Source Is democratising Knowledge
"In September 1991, when Linux Torvalds, a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland, released 10,000 lines of code on the Internet, nobody could have believed that it would spark off a revolution. In the 15 years since then, Linux has grown into an enormously capable operating system that contains more than 100 million lines of code."

Geez, that's a 10-pound buzzphrase in a 5-pound bag. Of course, it came from Redhat's Marketing Director, so what should I have expected?

But I must admit that the point is somewhat valid, if slanted. While it's not Linux specifically that's "democratizing knowledge," it is the ideals upon which Linux was built: the Free Software Movement and the Open Source Movement. You see the "democratization of knowledge" every day: Wikipedia (the best example, probably), Everything2, Project Gutenberg, Sourceforge, the various p2p networks, and of course, blogs. In fact, you could even argue that democracy's only safe haven lately has been these projects and networks. It's certainly taking a beating from the current Whitehouse Administration.

But I wouldn't point specifically at Linux and say, "That's where it all came from." I'd look more toward the likes of Richard Stallman and Eric Raymond. Linux just happened to be the first fruit of that democracy.


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