Cooperation Quote by Richard Stallman
“Every decision a person makes stems from the person's values and goals. People can have many different goals and values; fame, profit, love, survival, fun, and freedom, are just some of the goals that a good person might have. When the goal is to help others as well as oneself, we call that idealism. My work on free software is motivated by an idealistic goal: spreading freedom and cooperation. I want to encourage free software to spread, replacing proprietary software that forbids cooperation, and thus make our society better.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Talk on Free Software, 2002
Values and goals drive every decision; aligning personal aims with helping others creates idealism, motivating free‑software advocacy.
In simple terms: Decisions reflect values; helping others fuels idealism.
Key Takeaway
Align actions with altruistic values.
Themes
values
goals
idealism
software
freedom
Mood
inspired
determined
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- software development
- open‑source community
- policy advocacy
- education
- personal projects
Key Concepts
Ethics
motivation
collaboration
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance personal values with external expectations?
- What barriers exist to spreading free software?
A Different Perspective
Idealism may clash with profit motives and market pressures.
