The Uncarved Block of Open Source

Laozi's concept of Pu—the uncarved block—represents potential before it's constrained by specific forms. Open-source code shares this quality: it remains flexible, modifiable, and alive in ways proprietary software cannot. Like the uncarved block, open source doesn't impose one vision of what users should do; instead, it offers fundamental material that communities shape according to their actual needs. This proves revolutionary for activism because proprietary systems encode corporate values into their very structure, constraining what's possible. Open platforms let communities carve their own shapes. However, Laozi also warns that not all carving serves the whole; the activist challenge involves maintaining sufficient structure to remain usable while preserving enough flexibility for genuine community adaptation. The most vibrant open-source projects balance governance—establishing enough form to coordinate while resisting premature optimization that kills emergence. This Taoist approach to technology prevents both the chaos of total structurelessness and the rigidity of over-governance.