Easy comparisons include Henry David Thoreau,
transcendentalist philosopher and author of On Civil
Disobedience, and John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club
and progenitor of the modern environmental movement. It
is also easy to see similarities in men like William
Jennings Bryan, a.k.a. "The Great Commoner," leader of
the populist movement, enemy of monopolies, and a man
who, though powerful, seems to have faded into
historical insignificance.
Although not the first person to view software as
public property, Stallman is guaranteed a footnote in
future history books thanks to the GPL. Given that
fact, it seems worthwhile to step back and examine
Richard Stallman's legacy outside the current time
frame. Will the GPL still be something software
programmers use in the year 2102, or will it have long
since fallen by the wayside? Will the term "free
software" seem as politically quaint as "free silver"
does today, or will it seem eerily prescient in light
of later political events?
Predicting the future is risky sport, but most people,
when presented with the question, seemed eager to bite.
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