You can't rely on people being good
As someone who has thought deeply about the implications of open sourcing my product — ultimately going down a different path — I've realized, through both history and foresight, the risks of relying too much on human nature being inherently good. History shows us that when you make a commercial product open source, you're betting on the goodwill of others, but this isn't always a safe bet.
Approaching the decision to go open source with the assumption that all humans only want the best for others can be dangerous.
Even if you yourself believe in furthering a collective good, you can't assume everyone else will adhere to your altruistic views. It's wise to recognize that people can be profoundly selfish, unapologetically self-centered and greedy, and at times, inherently evil.
An open source license might package[1] your product to reflect your communistic altruism, like under copy-left, or your capitalistic views under a more permissive license. But neither approach makes your product immune to exploitation. Recognizing this is key.
