Well in the case of GPL it's to build a public commons. Part of GPL is to ensure that that public commons is maintained (it can be profited from, but not exploi

Well in the case of GPL it's to build a public commons. Part of GPL is to ensure that that public commons is maintained (it can be profited from, but not exploited). This article is likely referring to mostly permissive open source, which yea allows people to profit. We build a commons upon which better software can be built. People write open source to improve those commons, not for charity.