Linux Economics II

Another remark I often see posted is that Open Source will put all programmers out of a job. This is not the case though, in reality. Most programming work is custom development done in house. These jobs would not be impacted by the release of gratis software. Another flaw with this thinking is that Open Source (“free”) software must always be gratis. As we have seen recently, this is not the case. In some cases writing gratis software makes a programmer more marketable and exposes him to the world – which will increase his salary and gain a job. There is also money to be made in the implementation and maintenance of this free software. I'd say we can compare programmers working on Open Source in their free time to a lawyer doing pro bono work, a doctor who volunteers at a clinic or a college professor who offers free tutoring after class. I don't think many people would argue that lawyers doing pro bono work puts all lawyers at risk of starving. Would they?
–jeremy
Part I