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Originally Posted by Xanthe
Sorry if it's been discussed to death, but I'm new here and I haven't participated in any of those discussions, as I'm sure many other newbies haven't. So while it might be an "old chestnut" to you, it isn't to me.
Using China as an example, though, is a bit disingenuous given the fact that the country is just opening up to information downloads from the rest of the world, and that the average annual income probably doesn't allow for much discretionary spending by the majority of the population. Nor, I would assume, in a formerly completely communistic country is the capitalistic notion of paying for everything second nature. I'm not excusing piracy, only saying that the core mindset might be different from yours or mine.
I think that writer's need to get out of their rarefied atmosphere a bit. The majority of us in other occupations do work in the course of jobs for which we don't receive remuneration - things we do above and beyond our job descriptions or pay grade, just because it is necessary or because it would help someone or because it will solve a future problem. That is life. We don't quit our jobs just because we have to do more than we planned or we don't get the payments we think we deserve. Instead, we get something better - we get known. We get known as someone who can be depended on, as someone who will get the job done. Sometimes the best remuneration in life is ephemeral, not concrete.
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Your ideas regarding China are a bit dated. First there are at least 50 million filthy rich people, more than the total population of most other countries. Second, communism died with Mao and for the last 20 years China has been the most blatantly capitalistic system on the planet. Money rules (and connections, if only to make even more money). But honesty is not highly valued, in a departure from traditional Chinese values, if you can "stick it to someone" then it is regarded as a batch of honor (I was smarter) so don't expect people to pay for digital goods. What they like to pay for are luxury items to show off.