How is it more ethical if you don't pay for the product and no money goes to the author? Writers always say that preorders and direct purchases really matter. Of course DRM is bad, but why is piracy ethical in this case?
Piracy gives the same amount to the author as borrowing from a friend or from the library. It is just more efficient.
I 100% always pay for books available without DRM such as from No Starch Press. I encourage any authors reading to consider similarly ethical publishers.
Does the author pay every person they got all their ideas from ? We are talking about very complex one to many relationships that are practically unaccountable.
We have been living millenia without DRM protection of books so I would wager the justification of their necessity is dubious at best.