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Should Public Policy Support Open-Source Software?



The theory behind the open-source movement is that with programmers across
the globe working to improve software, there will be more innovation. Since
software would be mostly free, computer use would be much cheaper. And as
open-source software became easier to use, it would overtake Microsoft's
expensive and (by then) less desirable proprietary software and operating
system, busting its monopoly. Many argue that because open-source software
has such beneficial and democratic qualities, government should promote its
use through funding or regulation.

Opponents argue that it would not be fair for government to favor
open-source software and that the market should decide which type
flourishes. Others -- so-called "technolibertarians" -- argue that
government involvement could only get in the way of the open-source
phenomenon.

http://www.prospect.org/controversy/open_source/