"The hacker culture, and STEM in general, are under ideological attack."

Eric Raymond, "Why Hackers Must Eject the SJWs"

"For those that do treat technological empowerment as an ethical ideal, it is both justified and essential to condemn the systematic disempowerment of others. If one is taking an ethical position, it is justified, and often necessary, to not only speak about the benefits of freedom but against acts of dispossession and disenfranchisement. The desire to right wrongs has been a critical part of our movement's success."

Benjamin Hill, Board of Directors, Free Software Foundation

There are those who firmly believe that the politics of social justice have no place in the world of open source. They think that the injection of political ideologies is a corruption of the apolitical nature of free software.

From the onset, open source has been inherently a political movement, a reaction against the socially damaging, anti-competitive motivations of governments and corporations. It began as a campaign for social liberty and digital freedom, a celebration of the success of communal efforts in the face of rampant capitalism. What is this if not a political movement?

All political movements start with an ideology. But when they are set in motion this ideology may become obscured. It is crucial that we constantly scrutinize the manifestation of our principles to ensure that our lofty ambitions are in line with our actual actions.

The roots of the social justice movement can be traced back to the writings of Thomas Paine, who made the case for creating fair and universal opportunities for all people. Social justice addresses the problems of distribution of wealth, opportunity, and privilege within a given society. It calls for governing institutions to enable the full and positive participation of people in cooperative efforts toward shared benefits. This is the same motivation behind the desire for the free and equal participation expressed by the common ideals of the open source movement.

There is a social contract implicit in all forms of governance. This social contract demands that we hold community leaders accountable for their words and actions. Our insistence on codifying and enforcing standards of acceptable behavior, for example through written codes of conduct, is intended to secure the rights of full participation, acceptance and access for all contributors in the community.

The ultimate goal of social justice in the realm of open source communities does not stand in opposition to the philosophical underpinnings of its idealized meritocracy, but rather seeks to address the shortcomings and weaknesses of its current incarnations. Social justice strives for nothing less than a complete and fair execution of the founding principles of open source, in a way that is respectful of the challenges and lived experience of a diverse population of participants.

It's important to recognize that social justice advocates are not an external force acting on the open source movement; rather, they represent the voices of people within the community who are rarely heard. They are working to improve the state of open source from the inside.

We should honor and welcome the hard work of social justice advocates just as we value the work of early proponents of open source software. Social justice is far from being at odds with the goals of open source; it is a manifestation of the same principles on which open source was founded. Through open source and social justice we're collectively working toward a more just and equitable community that better serves the common good.