Morality and downloading

[bennyboy]

I don't see anybody illegally downloading small struggling Indie bands.  It's the Metallicas and the Britney Spears that get downloaded.  The small bands are doing gigs.  They draw bigger crowds so a pub can sell more beers.  And if they're lucky, they get laid once in a while.  I know plenty of good bands who would have standing orgasms if more than about 1000 people ever listened to anything they ever produced.

So then the morality of taking the product of someone's labor depends on how well-off they are? By that logic, it's fine to steal a six-pack od Budweiser, but wrong to steal a six-pack of your local brew.

Care to describe how that works, exactly? I mean, aside from "he's rich, he can afford my theft"?

Just two posts, I called this kind of thinking into question.  However, your drama about the poor hard-working musician doesn't make sense.  The guys who aren't currently rich and famous ALWAYS benefit from greater exposure more than from a couple iTunes downloads they might pick up from family members and people they meet in the bar.  The only ones really hurt by those loss of sales are music agencies and executives.

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So morality is a process, by which a thief determines whether the party being robbed deserves the stolen resources?

"Deserves"? No. However, even if piracy was unavailable, most people who pirate games would still not buy the softwars because they can't afford it. Because the prices are unjustly high.
Also, I'd like to note that "piracy is technically theft" isn't the same as piracy actually being theft. The former is in the eyes of the law, and the latter is the common definition of it - depriving someone else of their property.

See, that's what I wonder.  People who pirate games might not buy them-- but they sure are capable of talking about them.  I think word of mouth is an asset not to be disregarded.

But let's be very clear, here.  The laws of almost every country forbid copying software without permission, and so it is legally stealing.  Another issue would be this-- is it immoral to disobey a law that doesn't represent the interests of the majority?  Also, is it moral to establish a culture which absolutely revolves around music, movies, games and television, and then exclude from these cultural experiences those who can't pay for them?