bazaar

A bazaar is a market or shopping street found in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. They are lined with many small stores and stalls selling a variety of goods, including clothing, food, and crafts. Bazaars serve as more than just a commercial space; they also serve as a place for cultural exchange.

Garages and Bazaars

The term “cathedral” refers to a Buddhist temple or group of buildings, and the term “cathedral and bazaar” here comes from Eric Raymond’s 1997 essay, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar. The essay describes two types of software development models: the top down, organizational “Cathedral” model and the open, distributed “Bazaar” model. The Cathedral model refers to a strict planning and order based approach, as in traditional software development, while the Bazaar model refers to a free and collaborative development approach, as in open source projects such as Linux.

Clubs and Bazaars

As for “clubs and bazaars,” it refers to the context used by anthropologist Clifford Geertz and philosopher Richard Rorty. It is used to point out the difference between exclusivity and openness by comparing a social club or organization with a specific membership (a club) to an open and inclusive marketplace (a bazaar). In this metaphor, a club represents a closed community that benefits only a limited number of members, while a bazaar represents an open place that allows for more democratic and inclusive participation.

Other idiomatic usage

. Bazaar is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a free and dynamic environment or situation that is not bound by any particular formality or rules. For example, a place where ideas and information are freely exchanged is sometimes referred to as a “bazaar of ideas” or described as “bazaar-like” to refer to a very diverse and vibrant place or situation.

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