Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
Does that mean a system of state-sponsored artists and authors is the way to go? Personally I have reservations. When your livelihood depends on writing books and articles that are acceptable to the government, you are on a slippery slope. We’ve seen that in this country when some politicians have threatened to cut off funding for the National Endowment for the Arts because they disagreed with or were offended by certain works created with funds from the Endowment. Because it's not always prudent to bite the hand that feeds you; it's not always wise to allow the government to hold the financial reins over artistic creations.
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Yes it's problematic isn't it. Mind you a pure capitalist situation where you have to make a profit by any means necessary (including dumbing down and self censoring your work) isn't ideal either. One good thing about the whole piracy is that it's actually extremely decentralized, operated and governed by the people involved. Unlike Amazon for example and their 1984 debacle.
I'm pretty sure that authors, recording musicians etc. aren't going to be the last professions who have shift priorities or are outright displaced, so as a (global) society we should start thinking about ways in which we can make do in a digital world. Microcapitalism (where I'd get paid for posting here or something) might work, but I think it's rather dystopian. So I prefer libertarian socialistic thinking, but that's just my cup of tea.