| >What I mean to say is that the thing has no value in a market where it's being sold digitally. Again, yes it does. If it had no value no one would buy it. If it had no value people would not pirate it. People would not hoard it. And even marginal value is not zero. For someone to make a copy costs some input (time. energy, desire), and they do it because it has value. I think you have a really bad handle on the meaning of value. All of your misunderstandings seem to be trying to rationalize taking things others created that do have value (both to them and to you) without exchanging value to them. If it didn't have value, don't copy it. If you take the time and effort to copy it, it has value. Everything else is trying to rationalize taking something you do value at the expense of the creator. So sure you can wish everything were free to take or copy. But fortunately society does realize there is value in getting people to create things we can all enjoy, even if you decide in your world it's ok to take enjoyment from the labor of others without returning value to them for it. Thankfully the rest of the world doesn't see it that way, otherwise there would be an awful lot less stuff to enjoy. |