Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'd like to think rather better about people. Most people, I believe, take the view that just because it's possible to copy an eBook doesn't make it morally justifiable to do so.
If one follows the line of reasoning that because one can steal it, people will do so, nobody would buy a car because they could just go out and steal one. Stealing a car is not technically difficult, after all. Want a new TV? Break into your neightbour's house and steal theirs. You'd have to be stupid to pay for a TV when you can steal one for free. Wouldn't you?
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Sure, most people wouldn't break into their neighbor's house and steal a TV. But if you got a magic wand, and by waving it, you could get a TV exactly like your neighbor's, without taking it away... Well... is that wrong? And even if it is, how many people wouldn't wave the wand? But by doing so, you're 'stealing' from the TV manufacturer, the TV retailer, and a host of other people.
If you ask most people what they would wish for when they encounter a genie, they tend not to think about the effect on the car industry if they ask for a Ferrari, or the effect on the economy if they ask for a million dollars. Both of those are "stealing" just like copying a CD is, but somehow people treat them differently.