Value Proposition of Open Source
Open source has the potential for 1000x improvement in performance. 10x comes from lifetime design. 10x comes from multipurpose flexibility of parts that can be reused between devices. 10x comes from distributed wealth, what we call Distributive Enterprise. The benefit is undeniable. In my estimation, society will get there in about 10 years.
Lifetime Design
Open Source contributes to lifetime design by making design trasnparent and bill of materials available. Thus, maintenance, repair, and improvement are within reach. This has the capacity to extend useful life significantly, say from 1-10 years to 10-100 years.
When blueprints are open source, and Design for Disassembly and Simplicity are used - this further increases access to lifetime design by making servicing, repair, and improvement easier.
Multipurpose Flexibility
Multipurpose flexibility means interchangeability of parts and modules. This means that given artifacts can serve multiple purposes. For example, interchangeable toolheads or scalable battery packs extend the range of use of each of the related artifacts. Or, modular implements like on a tractor - and even more modular by making the design flexibility-centric - can lower cost of performing different tasks significantly.
Currently, manufacturers do not produce multipurpose equipment, to the point that even right-to-repair is being violated. Thus, adding multipurpose flexibility to product design has the potential to put the economy on a more solid foundation of human service.
Distributive Enterprise
When blue prints and enterprise blueprints are available, this opens up the possibility of distributing wealth siginificantly better than the proprietary employer / employee model. In the open source model, this can be achieved in an Open Source Franchise. The general idea is that instead of culturing specialized employees, OSE focuses on creating interdisciplinary and collaborative entrepreneurs who have more control over their lives. The result is higher distribution of productive potential, thereby mitigating wealth inequalities that are only widening in the digital age.
