Kerwin wrote: >No, I'm saying that "okay" is an arbitrary (and moot) term when >discussing something which is inevitable -- i.e., the eventual collapse >of our monetary system due to the ability to freely replicate materials >at zero cost.
I promised myself I would keep quiet on this, but apparently I lied to myself. If I recall, what started this thread was pirating of software NOW, not in some theoretical future when all materials may be replicated at zero cost. I don't know whether your utopian future will ever arrive, but its not here yet. >My last sentence was telling: "One's >world-view must change" in order to integrate oneself into a new way of >thinking. The cultural standards of which you speak are exactly that: >"cultural standards." They have no inherent reality, and are certainly >no more or less superior than any other culture's standards. But our present cultural standards are the ones we have, and society works more smoothly if everyone is playing by the same rules. The standards may evolve, but the social contract asks us to play by current standards. >All I said was that the >law of supply and demand dictates that when a product can be reproduced >indefinitely at no cost to the reproducer, then it ceases to have a >financial value. As I said above, we are centuries or millenniums from that technology. But getting back to where we came in, there is a cost to having software available for me to download, so its reasonable for the firm to charge for it so as to recover those costs. There were costs involved in paying the person who wrote it in the first place, and they need to be recovered. The server costs something to set up and maintain, but I'll leave those actual costs to someone more familiar with them. What is easier for me to discuss is opportunity cost. If I couldn't download it and use someone elses serial number to activate it, then I'd be forced to buy the physical CD in order to use the software. So if I copy it from someone else or download and use someone's serial number, it has the same ultimate effect as if I had slipped the CD under my jacket at a store. I got it for free, and the owner of the property right got ripped off. Now I am going to shut up, so help me god. Bill McIntyre San Clemente, CA ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
