pirate version of my book...

[Timothy Miller]

When immoral behavior becomes common, profitable, and more or less anonymous, it is no longer generally regarded as immoral. If the victim is distant stranger, or an abstraction, like a corporation, the sense of immorality diminishes further.

When people find hundred dollar bills lying around outdoors, with no apparent explanation, how many will turn the money over to authorities, pending identification of the rightful owner? For that matter, how many of us would do that?

My 24 year old son has a normal conscience -- he is not mean or selfish in other ways. He does not hesitate to download pirated music, he's got many gigs of it, and he's figured out some way to download a pirated version of almost any book he wants, to read on his Kindle. He would not hesitate to use pirated software, though he doesn't know how. His conscience is entirely silent on these topics. He thinks I'm weird because I prefer to pay for the music I listen to.

By comparison, I once tried to publish a commercial application and I'm the author of a copyrighted book for which I received well-earned royalties.

My son's behavior gives me pain. Yet he seems unable to conceive of the possibility that his actions are immoral or harmful. He seems to think I am an old-fashioned fuss-budget about copyrights. He is dismissive about the possibility that authors might stop writing or musicians might stop recording. Everyone he knows has the same point of view, except me and his Mom.

Meanwhile, maybe we should zoom out and look at the bigger picture. About sixteen percent of the world's population consumes 80% of its resources. This is not exactly fair, either. Are we all pirates, squabbling among ourselves for a "fair" share of the loot? Maybe "fair" is an illusion, often self-serving.

Dukkha.

Tim