What do you get...
...If you make ESR argue with a anarcho-libertarian-freemarketer-progressive (or whatever?)
A lot of hot gas!
It's a pity George Staikos' reasonable comments are in this piece, but hey, who could have guessed.
Anyway: the writer is the most annoying essayist I've ever read. And he goes and has en email exchange with ESR (the previous holder of the crown). And half-quotes it at length. Sigh. A trainwreck.
We are all now slightly dumber if we read this piece.
Whoa! What a raving idiot!
Still, I thought ESR *was* a anarcho-libertarian-freemarketer-progressive-whatever? Nah, that's ESR minus half a clue ('cause at least ESR's a decent hacker, and the Art of Unix is a decent book).
I think ESR is a libertarian/gun-activist/conservative but I could be wrong!
anarcho-capitalist too, don't forget that!
D'oh! It's The Art of UNIX Programming. I blame caffeine.
ESR is extreme right. This guy is extreme left. I suppose the "political compas" style scale is more appropriate, but I'm too lazy to explain.
At any rate this essay is neither well thought out nor well written. If you made it through every word you're a more patient man than I. ;-)