Linux isn't really communism
Everyone that uses it is explicitly agreeing to follow the terms, and as much as I hate IP, that's a pretty valid contract.
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@histoire @SteveTheDragon
Depending on how exactly you define communism, open source software does fulfill some of the requirements for the utopic vision of communism. The whole people work on something with no other motivation than that they want to, they're passionate about it, and they don't actually ask for something in return.
But the reality is not that simple. You might not pay for using Ubuntu, but companies can pay to get extra support and other services. In reality, what you get as free and open software, can be free advertising for other paid services. So the whole enterprise still ends up being driven by capitalist forces.
@SteveTheDragon @histoire
In a way, it can be seen as "pay what you think it deserves" model. And while counter-intuitive, such models can be widely successful if your product is good. I remember seeing a news report on a Romanian bar/restaurant, that was close to bankruptcy, tried this approach and was suddenly recovering and making more money than it ever had.
