The open source software (OSS) movement began in 1983 when computer programming was just beginning to reach out to a wider audience beyond MIT and academia. The philosophy behind OSS is that the more people who work on a software project, the better it can become. And with so many workers, no one of them can claim over-arching ownership of the entire system.
One of the biggest advocates for OSS is Eric S. Raymond, who likened OSS and closed source software to a bazaar and a cathedral, respectively. Raymond posited that closed source software, that is developed by corporations for profit, is like building a cathedral where there is one or a handful of architects that use other workers to create a single vision. On the other hand, he states that software development should be more like a bazaar, where there is massive collaboration and — at times — chaos, where there are no clearly defined roles and all collaborators are co-authors in the final product.
There are a number of reasons the bazaar model is better than the cathedral. Firstly, it allows for users to be co-creators of the software. If they have free and open access to it, then they can improve upon it and fix bugs themselves.
Also, a bazaar model allows for multiple aspects of the project to be worked on simultaneously. With a cathedral, you have to start at the bottom and work up. But OSS allows for multiple people to be working on the roof, the windows, the doors, and the floor all at the same time — so to speak.
Lastly, an OSS model allows for faster changes to be released to the public, so the consumer always has access to the latest improvements and upgrades, rather than waiting for periodic updates.
Detractors say that such a model is chaotic and unstable, but OSS advocates point out that freedom, to them, is more important than structure.