Quote:
Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes
Copyright needs to look at the artist's and the buyer's rights. It's not rocket science, but we continually pander to corporations. It's the capitalistic way.
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In a free economy, exchanges only take place when both sides believe they are better off (otherwise, why go to the bother of making the exchange in the first place?) We all, in general, benefit greatly by the existence and actions of corporations.
However, the US is not a purely free economy, and the government frequently interferes with the market, which leads to the "pandering" you mention. But this has far more in common with socialist theory than capitalist. (I know, some of you will object to the word socialist. It means, in essence, that either through direct or indirect means, government controls a business. Look no further than the miles of health care regulations prior to Obamacare and ask yourself just how much autonomy the health care corporations had. The consequence of such control is that corporations spend more time and effort begging for special favors from government rather than in actually producing what consumers want. This kind of rent seeking is most certainly anti-capitalist.)
When it comes to copyright law, some have stated that it should be abolished. I don't happen to agree. I see the negatives of copyright law, but I also see the positives, and I can't say that current enforcement is all about protecting the producers. It is a system whereby we, the readers, get to choose which authors produce more works, while the authors can be certain that if they do produce good works, they will make enough money to eat from that rather than needing to work another job to support their writing habit.
When I see most authors driving Ferraris, living in posh mansions, and having generally too much money to know what to do with, I'll agree that the balance is off. Right now, I don't see many fat cats in the publishing industry. Neither do I see the general public unable to access information because it is too costly. So I do not the see the current system as grossly imbalanced.