Free Software Is a Foundational Principle for the Computer Club

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There isn't a stand alone sophware industry per se. There's some software companies, but not in the way that you don't buy the computer and then buy the software. The free sharing of soft ware is a kind of foundational principle for this hobbiest community. Like everyone's got their own cool machine, but we're sharing ideas about how to build a cool machine.

Paris Marx is joined by Margaret O’Mara to discuss how the state and military have been at the center of the US tech industry since the very beginning, but how it was written out of the popular narrative during the neoliberal turn in the 1980s.

Margaret O’Mara is the author of “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America” and a professor at the University of Washington. Follow Margaret on Twitter as @margaretomara.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

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