Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
Good points, slayda. I certainly don't think people who don't read (or listen to music, or look at paintings) owe those content creators anything. They may choose to support the arts in a general way, on principle, but it's a very different situation than someone who enjoys the arts but feels no obligation to pay the artist.
What I was trying to get at is that I sometimes hear people justifying their behavior by railing against capitalism... which is fine, but working alternatives to capitalism all involve "paying back" by some other means. There's no free lunch, no matter what economic system you use. Not in the long run, anyway.  |
Guess I tend more to rail against socialism due to real workers supporting lazy god for nothings just because they're people and therefore deserve to be supported. I agree that giving back to the "environment" (whatever you want to include in that) is imperative.
I am sometimes reminded of something I once hard on a public radio broadcast. They said that of all "functional adults" (this does not include children, mentally incompetent, sick, extreme elderly, etc.) that 50% could not even take care of themselves. Of the remaining 50%, 30% could only take care of themselves. The remaining 20% were carrying society. I initially thought this was a very harsh and pessimistic statement. But then I began thinking of people I knew and ultimately concluded that it was rather optimistic.
What I'm getting to is that the 20% carrying society are the only ones who can be expected to support the "Arts". I realize that as my financial abilities have increased, I have become more supportive of the Arts, even those that I find little to appreciate because I now understand what I did no as a younger person, everyone sees art differently.
Maybe sometimes we just need to set a good example and wait for others to gain both wealth and appreciation.