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Awesome read, all very good and fair points. The FSF are very persuasive folks and have done a wonderful job starting and promoting free software which eventually led to Gnu/Linux and Android by extension.
Unfortunately, a book is not software, though both are written down in some language. Software is useful, art is not: software can help find a cure for cancer, a book will only imagine about a world without cancer. Software benefits from many contributors squashing bugs and polishing the interface, a book gets bogged down by too many conflicting views and styles leading to a confusing plot.
Software is essentially a mechanical work, a book is a creative endeavour. Software is utilitarian, a book serves no purpose other than offering new points of view and experiences...
Summing up, what may be good for software may not necessarily be good for books (art), namely that authors should work for free expecting others contributions to make its work better.
That said, I'm totally pro the FSF view that lending as implemented in the nook and kindle are ridiculously cumbersome.
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