14th August, 2003
Leastworst
Thursday, 12:59 am in Archive
I was thinking today about the idea that democracy is the ‘least worst’ system of government (forgot who said this, Churchill or one of those I think). This is not to meat to imply that democracy is the best form of government, but, well, if you didn’t get it the first time then I doubt I can explain it to you.
Anyway, in a way this quote reminded me of Windows, which I’ve been thinking about somewhat with the virus flying around the place. I think that this quote can – in the context of completely bastardising it – be applied to the Windows operating system. Like Windows, democracy is popular in western countries and reasonably user friendly. When it breaks, you can pick it up and start again (know variously as ‘election’ and ‘reinstall’). Vigorous maintenance is needed to keep both Windows and a democracy running smoothly, and when things go wrong, they go very wrong indeed (‘corruption’ and ‘virus’).
Unix and Linux, then, are the communism and socialism of the OS world respectively. Theoretically owned by ‘The People’, in reality they are controlled by an oligarchical elite (programmers/government). To outsiders (ie. members of a democracy/Windows users), their systems are incomprehensible and anarchic. However, both work better than their democratic/Windowsian counterparts in theory. And this is largly true, but only in very controlled environments, participated in by people familiar with and in favour of the system. For everyone else, the everyman, it is a system which requires a huge paridigm shift to accept; often violently imposed. Unlike its counterpart’s open go-anywhere-do-anything structure, no dissent is tolerated amongst The People, and the Supreme Leader has ultimate control over the fate of all.
And as for Macs, well, Macs are a theocracy. To the believers they are the One True Way of God. To everyone else they’re a bunch of retrograde raving loons.
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