[ardy42]

> I wonder if RIAA lawyers believe themselves productive members of society, or if they recognize themselves as the parasites they are.

At least one way they could rationalize their actions is by taking an outlandish but not uncommon view of property rights: that no one would bother to create anything without being able to profit from ownership of it, and the more they can profit the more they'll create.

There's also the even more outlandish view that whatever the market does is good for society by definition, so if the market pays you to do something you can assume it's beneficial to society.