Anthropological Quarterly

Coleman, Gabriella.
The Political Agnosticism of Free and Open Source Software and the Inadvertent Politics of Contrast
Anthropological Quarterly - Volume 77, Number 3, Summer 2004, pp. 507-519

George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research

Gabriella Coleman - The Political Agnosticism of Free and Open Source Software and the Inadvertent Politics of Contrast - Anthropological Quarterly 77:3 Anthropological Quarterly 77.3 (2004) 507-519 The Political Agnosticism of Free and Open Source Software and the Inadvertent Politics of Contrast Gabriella Coleman University of Chicago Free and open source software (FOSS), which is by now entrenched in the technology sector, has recently traveled far beyond this sphere in the form of artifacts, licenses, and as a broader icon for openness and collaboration. FOSS has attained a robust socio-political life as a touchstone for like-minded projects in art, law, journalism, and science -- some examples being MIT's OpenCourseWare project, School Forge, and the BBC's decision to release all their archives under a Creative Commons license. One might suspect FOSS of having a deliberate political agenda, but when asked, FOSS developers invariably offer a firm and unambiguous "no"--usually followed by a precise lexicon for discussing the proper relationship between FOSS and politics. For example, while it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged to have a panel on free software at an anti-globalization conference, FOSS developers would suggest that it is unacceptable to claim that FOSS has as one of its goals anti-globalization, or for that matter any political program -- a subtle but vital difference, which captures the uncanny, visceral, and minute semiotic acts...