Microsoft has declared its love for Linux. 78 percent of companies report using open source software. Open source code powers billions of PCs, servers, phones and tablets. Does this mean the open source approach to software development has triumphed decisively? As 2015 draws to a close, can we fairly call this the year when open source finally “won”?
These questions lead me to think of an essay published by the political scientist Francis Fukuyama in 1989 called “The End of History.” Fukuyama famously argued that the disintegration of the Soviet empire, which was then underway, signaled the end of history as the world had known it for the previous two centuries because it meant that Western liberal democracy had won a decisive, irreversible victory against competing ideologies.