Quote:
Originally Posted by scottken
Now we are being asked to undo this not because we think this is a bad or unfair way to compensate artists but simply because it is technologically possible for corporations or individuals to exploit artists work without their permission on a massive scale and globally.
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And therein lies what makes me antsy about the ethics of piracy: it is doing something solely because you *can*. It is putting might above right. That kind of ethics (or lack thereof) has historically led to serious abuses.
Just because you can blow somebody's brains with a gun doesn't mean you should; just because you can "publish" somebody's creation and freely give it away to a few million of your closest friends doesn't mean it is right to do so.
We should be aspiring to a more ethical culture were people stop to *think* about the effects of their actions and not rely solely on government coercion by force of law to get people to respect each other's rights.
And that last bit seems to be what Goodkind is up to; as a (reported) follower of objectivism, he believes his individual property rights are being infringed and is responding on a direct personal basis.
The guy disintermediating publishers in his most recent release chose to disintermediate the government and took his grievance directly to the pirate. Believe what you will about his beliefs, he is certainly being consistent.