this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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After taking some time to think, it’s worthwhile to remember that basically everything we think of as modern open source happened in a time of unipolar global hegemony with the express approval of that hegemony.
Open source as we know it and experience it today likely cannot exist in a time of real contestation over the levers of power in the world and you probably shouldn’t make the mistake of voting with your dollars or time in that contest. Any money or time that you find sloshing around is probably better spent elsewhere preparing yourself for the outcome of that contest rather than cheering or contributing in it.
I think this is the right take on this.
All of this is fundamentally rooted in legal compliance things and the only reason you can see any western open source organizations not following suit is because their "violation" has flown under the radar so far. While going European-based helps with a lot of other US bullshit, in this case it doesn't because the sanction situation is largely the same across most of the world. You could go with one of those Chinese or Russian (maybe Indian?) distributions I suppose, but those come with their own problems.
Even if you're prepared to make your own Linux distribution - If you're in the US, Europe, or much of the rest of the world, you're in the same legal situation as all the existing projects and risk criminal persecution for violating sanctions. Well, in theory at least, I haven't heard of many arrests or convictions actually happening because of open source software. If you want to gamble on it never actually happening then sure, go ahead.
As humans we like our agency, which makes it tempting to think of \<any world problem\> as something that can be solved by making mildly inconvenient lifestyle decisions, but unfortunately that's just not how things work at this scale. Solving this issue requires lifting the sanctions, which requires a successful left wing (or at least left leaning) political movement to happen in a large chunk of the world. It's perfectly fine to make that lifestyle decision, but it's important to keep the bigger picture in mind.
Clarification edit: At the same thing, it's also important to see that the problem is happening, so signal boosting blog posts like this absolutely has value despite all of this.