|
I think that the publishers are over-playing their hand. Borrowing is a part of human life and you can't regulate every tiny thing. For example:
- My mother has cable television. I do not. Yet, I can go to my mother's any time I want and watch her cable television. Does this mean that the cable company is 'losing a sale' over this? Should they have the right to tell me I cannot visit my mother, or that I can but she is forbidden from accessing the cable television while I do so?
- I have often invited friends over for an evening. Sometimes, we will decide to watch a dvd. If the dvd is one that my friend does not own and perhaps will not buy now that they have seen it for free at my house, does that mean I should not be allowed to have friends over, or that I am allowed but cannot watch a dvd while they are over?
- Or how about bigger things like swimming pools or major appliances? People often used to get my grandfather to do certain small projects for them because he has a large collection of power tools. Did that translate into fewer of my relatives purchasing their own power tools? Can one say conclusively that they would have bought the power tools (or swimming pool or large van or whatever the item might be) if they did not have a relative who had one?
|