Creative commitment based identity with a cause?
Yes, Eric Hoffer studied the motivations of mass movements, and identified the most important three as: discontent with the status quo, a sense of power derived from the cause, and belief that the endeavor is the key to the future. These motivations induce people to commit their lives to a cause. The discontent of the open-source movement stems from history of the monopoly domination of the computer industry, so its key element is a form of common resistance, especially led by the heroic figures of Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds. The sense of power is a natural side effect of overcoming programming challenges, which is a kind of creative addiction. In our case similar motivations prevail. Here an important element of the sense of power is the quantum-leap provided by optimization re-engineering. The engagement of all of Hoffers motivations is the primary purpose of the book, Catch++ — Software Overspecialization and the Metaphoric Programming Agenda.
