It's hard to remain objective about downloading copyrighted material, for free. On the one hand, an artist or intellect who toils hundreds upon hundreds of hours to pump out a book is stolen from if his/her work is taken free of charge. The same goes for teams of entertainers, say musicians or movie makers. Then again, what movie makers and downloaders don't seem to understand alike is that all of this could be taken care of, very, very easily. It's already been around for a long, long time, too. The difference is using the internet to control it just as it is controlled in real life. It's not because it is around in real life that artists and intellects didn't or don't make money. It's also not because it is around that artists or intellects have all their work stolen and read when their work would never be stolen or read if people had to buy it. The sad fact about that truth is people steal what is valuable to them, generally speaking. If the work is not read or bought to begin with, money won't be lost if it is stolen. Although a consequentialist argument, it is beside my point. And, of course, the problem with my point is the same problem we see in agriculture. It is the same problem we see in the distribution of food and water around the world. The world has produced a great deal more food than it can consume for hundreds of years. Most of the world's water reserves are canalized freshwater rivers. The problem isn't the science and it's not the intellects or the consumers. It's the people in power (a select few who work in any particular industry) who hire lobbyists to exploit the law. You might think otherwise when you read it, but libraries have the same kinds of people working for them. We're able to print three dimensionally now, and to digitize information. Wouldn't you think that at least digitizing it would save trees and help the climate? Wouldn't you think that through a number of very substantial arguments humanity at large would reap the benefits? That, the implications would also encourage a digital age versus the age most people still live in? You'd be right to agree. But some elite persons who work in institutions that control information, such as libraries, and who are allied with other institutions, think that it is best to hold knowledge and entertainment hostage at the detriment of everyone out of fear that if everyone had access to public libraries no more money would be made. The truth is, sharing is perfectly legal. There are hundreds of thousands of millions of libraries all over the world, many of which are cultural goldmines. If that content were uploaded to the internet, and, trust me, it's not hard to do through civil servants who earn very good livings in several countries throughout the world, content could be borrowed at any time. A book isn't in your library? No problem, you still pay your taxes right? So, just make a request at your library for the book you need and voila, the book will arrive. Still not happy? Then open up a subscription at your national library, which should house millions of titles. On that note, such things as a world library could exist. Sounds like a good idea to me.

That would also take care of the music, in a lot of cases. Cinema would still have issues, but I think they deserve it. The tickets are outrageously expensive and once the movie has begun, in almost 100% of cases it's too inconvenient to leave. As well, there's the fact that we are forced to watch commercials for upwards of twenty minutes, on top of the ten to fifteen dollars already paid. Yes, that's right, people pay to watch commercials in my century. Fifteen to twenty years ago, people who took the risk could buy a ticket and at least expect a movie at the indicated time on the ticket. Sorry, not the consumer's problem. So, boycotting does seem a legitimate answer, and I think that'd be the best way to push online cinema. People think that if they are subscribed to sites that charge them a dime a film that they are "not stealing" but in those cases the artists don't see any of that money. At any rate, downloading of the sort is a result of lobbyists and politicians, plain and simple.