# Right to Read by Richard Stallman

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Right to Read by Richard Stallman and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A short, free essay by Richard Stallman warning that control over digital works can lock away knowledge; readers say it anticipated today's restrictions.

## Why people recommend it

- Predicted today's locked-down digital world (7 comments): "His dystopia is exactly where we're going to be headed quickly if we keep demanding someone to "do something"." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775929)) "His dystopia is exactly where we're going to be headed quickly if we keep demanding someone to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775468)) "His essay The Right to Read seems to be a vision of how knowledge gets locked down." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48475516))
- Stallman's warnings still hold true (2 comments): "Stallman was right, as always. Time to give his "Right to Read" another read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48088065)) "RMS was correct in his Right to Read and so many other things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48866871))
- Warns about greed and locked knowledge (2 comments): "The Right to Read is a great story on showing just how greedy and stupid people would get if we allow them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47263516)) "His essay The Right to Read seems to be a vision of how knowledge gets locked down." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48475516))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur](https://hackerapproved.com/p/programming-as-theory-building.md): 32 recommend
- [Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ur-fascism.md): 18 recommend
- [Politics and the English Language by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics-and-the-english-language.md): 14 recommend
- [Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations-on-moloch.md): 11 recommend
- [Reflections on Trusting Trust by Ken Thompson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/reflections-on-trusting-trust.md): 10 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Right to Read by Richard Stallman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/right-to-read/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).