You're confusing communism with fascism. Communism does not intrinsically restrict the free flow of ideas, products, speakers, cats, bits, whatever. However, in a communist system flow can be restricted by fascist leaders. The same is true for a socialist system, a capitalist system, a mixed system, and - yes - a free market system. It just takes a lot more trickery and subtlety when the power structure is more transparent. And when the fuck did we start using economic terms to describe political systems?
That said, the Open Source Software paradigm can't be compared to ANY kind of governing system because it's NOT a governing system. Nor can it be compared to an economic system, for the same reason. It's not an economic system. There is no intrinsic form of incentivized exchange of goods and services. Most of the services provided and goods rendered are given away and are done without expectation of reimbursement for one's time. Hell, it's closer to Utopic Anarchy than any kind of government or economy (which is intrinsically different from the free market, because the free market requires a coercive power differential which is *precisely* what Anarchy aims to destroy). Of course, it's not Anarchistic...at least Linux development isn't. OSS can be, however, compared to other software paradigms.
What you'll get if you try and compare software to government or economics or anything else that it is NOT is an endless debate that no one can win because neither side will ever be right. In other words, please shut the fuck up. Wait, i'm not new here, you won't shut the fuck up.
