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Actually, it's quite fine to charge for one's work and deny access to one's work to those who won't pay you for it. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. If content creators can't own their own works, then nobody should be able to own anything. Walk into any store you wish and just take things. Walk into anyone's house and just take things.
Communism doesn't work because folks stop working when there is nothing to gain from their labors.
But -- in the land of the real, away from childish notions of "information wants to be free" -- it is easily seen that high priced books are a great thing even for those who can't or don't want to buy them.
The reality of millions of folks paying those high prices allows for and incentivises the creation of more such books. For those unable or unwilling to pay the price -- their situation is unchanged. If an author (and the entire production chain that brings an author's work to the market) has no incentive to create the work, the work wouldn't exist. So a high priced work enables the product to exist in the first place.
Even though very few folks actually make "big money" by writing, the chance to make that money is a huge draw for others to create new works.
It is not wrong for books to exist that are priced beyond the means of some. If we gave in to the childish notion that "Billy can't afford this particular book therefore all books should be free" would not result in a good situation for "Billy". It would merely result in ALL of use not having new books to read. Billy's lot in life is unchanged and everyone else's is made poorer.
On the contrary -- Billy need only wait awhile while those who CAN and CHOOSE to pay the "high new book price" to do so and the books get created. And he can pick up a used copy, borrow from a friend, check the book out from a library, etc.
The best way to ensure Billy has books is to ensure there's a chance someone is going to be richly rewarded for creating books Billy can't pay for.
Lee
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