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>I think the issue here is that we don't have a system where being an OSS contributor is a sustainable career path.

They knew that before they started.

I meant it in a general sense, I think we'd be in a better place as a society if this model of work was easier to follow/more mainstream.

I am not sure what you are saying here.

Is this is a general critique of capitalist exploitation of the "software" field? Like, as in software should be a utility like fresh water or electricity?

If not, and you are relatively literal in what you write, the following question seems unavoidable:

What about coaches for youth sports? What about beach cleanup? What about a thousand other worthwhile and societally useful activities that people volunteer to do, but for which there is no sustainable career path? What makes OSS contributing any different from them?

> I think we'd be in a better place as a society if this model of work was easier to follow/more mainstream.

Why?

Because it would mean more people working on free software which permanently enriches all of us.

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