The UN seems to be an enthusistic supporter of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), in the interests of third world economic development..

Of course, these are folk of the ilk who manage to destroy the prospects for development every time they get a chance, as noted here, here, or the latest The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good:

No one who attacks the humanitarian aid establishment is going to win any popularity contests, but, neither, it seems, is that establishment winning any contests with the people it is supposed to be helping. Easterly, an NYU economics professor and a former research economist at the World Bank, brazenly contends that the West has failed, and continues to fail, to enact its ill-formed, utopian aid plans because, like the colonialists of old, it assumes it knows what is best for everyone. Existing aid strategies, Easterly argues, provide neither accountability nor feedback. Without accountability for failures, he says, broken economic systems are never fixed. And without feedback from the poor who need the aid, no one in charge really understands exactly what trouble spots need fixing.

If the third world is to enter the world of development, it needs to be able to participate in the techniques of modern wealth generation, which consist largely of producing intellectual property, for the market.

posted by James DeLong @ 11:09 AM | International, Software

Link to this Entry | Printer-Friendly | Email a Comment | Post a Comment(0)