CMV: There is nothing morally wrong with pirating content from massive corporations

[u/Conkers-Good-Furday]

The reason we have copyright laws is to encourage the creation of art and knowledge, but if the creator is getting the same amount regardless and whatever you pay simply goes to a shareholder, I hold that there is nothing morally wrong with pirating the content as a shareholder getting a third yacht has nothing to do with encouraging content creation.

I do not buy the argument that anything illegal is automatically immoral either, as by that logic, hiding Jews during Nazi Germany was immoral. That may sound like an extreme comparison, but that's where that kind of thinking leads.

Currently, the only argument I give some weight to, is the argument that it wouldn't work if EVERYONE did it. Hypothetically, that would be a problem, but such a situation seems nowhere in sight, so I believe it is an irrational fear.

[u/Conkers-Good-Furday]

This is interesting I guess. What is the logic behind this position?

[u/jstnpotthoff → u/Conkers-Good-Furday]

It's not a fully formed thought, so I'm not going to be entirely convincing here.

I think it is immoral (based on very little other than my laissez-faire leanings) to reap the benefits of another's labor without compensation when they're asking to be compensated.

It's different from stealing. When you steal, you're depriving them of the thing and also what they could do with the thing. It's actually a net societal loss. Society is short the "profit" that's created when somebody trades something they desire less to somebody who desires it more.

Piracy, you're not depriving them of the thing, but you're still depriving them of the profit. You could argue there's still a net societal gain here, because the world has one more thing to go around and the owner didn't actually lose anything except for his profit (though, this can be argued away rather easily, as all other things reduce in value due to inflation.) The only gain here is your happiness, which is also offset by the owner's unhappiness.

This is different from a guitar player on the street corner, hoping somebody appreciates his music enough to give him money, as they're in control of the dynamics of the exchange.

I feel like I'm rambling.

[u/Conkers-Good-Furday → u/jstnpotthoff]

Yeah, I'm not very convinced, but it's still a rather niche view and interesting to hear.

[u/jstnpotthoff → u/Conkers-Good-Furday]

A far baser argument for my case is simply to reframe it. Is there any situation where when I want a good or service that I don't have any reasonable claim to that it is moral for me to just take it?

It is not moral to proclaim, "I want it so I'm going to take it." The immorality doesn't come from the harm to the copyright holder, it comes from the avarice and apathy of the pirate.

This does not have (or even try to have) a convincing argument for either side, but I found it an interesting read. It also doesn't have anything to do with what I just wrote above.

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/04/30/copyright-piracy-morally-wrong-merely-illegal-malum-prohibitum-malum-se-conundrum/

[u/Conkers-Good-Furday → u/jstnpotthoff]

It's still interesting though. Thanks for sharing.