Why do so many adults engage in media piracy with no more compunction than eating a doughnut in public?

Question

I think > 50% of the people I know routinely seek out ripped off movies & music. Many of these same folks all but wear a badge of religion on their chest.

Stated differently, aren’t the ethics that these folks subscribe to a failure?

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Answer 1

I agree with you, and they probably cheat on their tax too while mouthing off about their so-called religion. It's my impression that Christians are the worst about this, but this is probably only because I know so many Christians compared to other religions. In general, anybody who has a great deal (unsolicited) to say about their religion probably isn't practising it very well if at all.

Mind you, I think it would be extremely vulgar to eat a doughnut or anything else in the street.

Answer 2

I think that there's a perception that it's not really stealing if you're doing it from some major entity. In this case, either a (usually) successful musician and a large corporation.
Also, I think the anonymity and convenience of the Internet makes it easier to do so. The same people would never dream of putting a CD from a store in their trench coat pocket.
Finally, bits are an intangible thing. People are less under the impression that they are stealing if it's not a material object.

Answer 3

When you steal your neighbor's car, you are causing him a tangible loss. But when someone downloads a music song, does that physically impoverish the musician? Not really, particularly if the downloader wouldn't have purchased it otherwise. At most, the artist has only lost _potential_ revenue.

So are you, a Randite, advocating that gov't should be granting exclusive, gov't-enforced monopolies to content creators? We're not talking about one person trying to claim credit for the creative work of another. Once a digital work has been created, the cost to reproduce it is nearly zero. Are you suggesting that gov't should use force to subsidize the creation of content by artificially raising the cost of its replication? Such meddling by gov't in the market is typically what Objectivists & free market purists object to the most!

Answer 4

How is it stealing if it is readily availible and a common practice as you are stating. Along those lines then taking a pen home from work because you forgot constitutes stealing. Or even collecting peenies, since currency has to stay in circulation by law.

Some laws are jsut laws of choice. Menaing they are enforced on an inconsistent and specific rather than general basis.

Answer 5

Most people do not consider ripping off a song as stealing. It never occurs to them that the people who produced that song depend on sales to feed their kids and produce their next CD.

Want to rip off songs? Fine. The musician that is constantly being ripped off might decide to find another more profitable career. Or he might decide not to record new albums, but just tour. That's one way to get the people who have ripped off his songs to pay ($50 tickets).

Answer 6

I think u are having a bad hair day.
Just turn the radio on Oldies Music is all ya need to do.

Answer 7

Ahem...do you own a video RECORDER? Do you own a DVD RECORDER? Do you own a tape RECORDER?

What's the difference between buying a TV and a VCR and using them to RECORD a movie or TV program, and buying a computer and internet access and using it to RECORD a movie or TV program?

There's no difference. You pay for your TV. You pay for your VCR. You pay for your PC. You pay for your Internet.

RECORD or DOWNLOAD. What's the difference?

Answer 8

I suppose you dont rip music yourself and you never have. What is your deal why do you care do you work for those industries.

No one is perfect leave them alone. questions like these just make you look like an @$$

Answer 9

The same reason so many students do the ole cut and paste and plagiarize.....because they can!

Answer 10

religious people are the MOST hypocritical!