I don’t think there’s any possibility of useful discussion of linux happening here so we may as well discuss that.
The tension between the various meanings of the word “liberal” is complex, and it very much depends on the context. Historically, liberalism referred to political philosophies that featured liberty — individual autonomy and freedom — as their central ideal. It was the idea that the state and other organizing powers should be generously permissive, allowing all to do as they please to the greatest extent deemed possible. Over time the word has sometimes come to instead be more closely associated with narrow kinds of liberty, such as the freedom of the ruling classes to exploit everyone else. In an American context over the course of the 20th century it came to have particular connotations of hypocrisy as reflected for example in the lyrics of that Phil Ochs song you’ve probably heard. These days it is sometimes even used as shorthand for what was previously called “neoliberalism.” Its meanings can range even further into the unorthodox. In this thread for example, its use is more likely to convey a message along the lines of “this affront to Glorious Mother Russia has made me all pissy.”
I don’t think there’s any possibility of useful discussion of linux happening here so we may as well discuss that.
The tension between the various meanings of the word “liberal” is complex, and it very much depends on the context. Historically, liberalism referred to political philosophies that featured liberty — individual autonomy and freedom — as their central ideal. It was the idea that the state and other organizing powers should be generously permissive, allowing all to do as they please to the greatest extent deemed possible. Over time the word has sometimes come to instead be more closely associated with narrow kinds of liberty, such as the freedom of the ruling classes to exploit everyone else. In an American context over the course of the 20th century it came to have particular connotations of hypocrisy as reflected for example in the lyrics of that Phil Ochs song you’ve probably heard. These days it is sometimes even used as shorthand for what was previously called “neoliberalism.” Its meanings can range even further into the unorthodox. In this thread for example, its use is more likely to convey a message along the lines of “this affront to Glorious Mother Russia has made me all pissy.”