The "lending feature" is an attempt to maintain control where it doesn't exist any more so I agree with what he's saying that it's not necessary. The important thing for people that want to make a living from selling ebooks is that sharing is also a part of social networking and viral marketing. When someone lends me a physical book they're not just providing me access they're asking me to read it and discuss it later. My friends and family know what I like so it's a high percentage referral. It's order of magnitude better then giving away free books.
Getting paid for every copy is an unrealistic pipe dream and the best you can hope for is to get paid by enough people to make a living from it. For that to happen you have to me read by as many people as possible. If they like it they're likely to buy the next book.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ni..._networks.html