Quote:
Originally Posted by Mivo
The entire concept of "intellectual property" is still a fairly new thing, and it is not undisputed. One could make a case that it is uncivilized to withhold knowledge, e.g. textbooks, from those who cannot afford to pay for it. Numerous textbooks are not available in libraries.
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It is possibly uncivilized, but is the onus on the publisher/author. I saw an article a while back (cannot remember where) that indicated that US Universities were moving towards providing course material such as books for free.
My opinion is that education should be provided free to all that qualify. No sense sending a non literate person to medical school. A minimum food and rent subsidy should be provided to those unable to pay for it. I know we have scholarships and student loans but it is not enough for many.
I think it is incumbent on society as a whole to provide necessary books, and authors and publishers would pay along with the rest of us through taxes.
And most of us have access to libraries with paper copies at least of popular fiction. I don't at present, but luckily I can access my home libraries ebooks
I don't expect Safeway to provide free or low cost food for the needy, and they are possibly wealthier than the publishers. Be nice if they did of course, but soon they would probably be out of business.
Helen