Original story When half your population says they do somthing illegal, doesn't that seem like a sign that maybe the laws as they currently exist perhaps don't mirror the values of the people?
And if all the people in the uk admited if they have downloaded or bought a pirate cd or DVD, I but its more than half the uk population. Majority of people speed in the UK which is ilegal. What does that say about us??
Laws never mirror the values of the people, or you wouldn't need a police force. They're an ideal for people to live by. When you think a law is wrong, ask yourself what would happen if everybody broke it, or if it were rescinded. Drop copyright altogether, and who's going to bother financing art? Drop speeding restrictions and what's the effect on road deaths? We're not intelligent enough to live without rules. See The Tragedy of the Commons - "Freedom is the recognition of necessity."
I disagree. Laws mirror somthing of the average values of the society. Take speeding for example. Most people feel that the speed limits are close to reasonable and so they drive at close to the limit and seldom look down on others for driving a few miles / kph over. On the other hand, most people agree that driving at double the limit is unaceptable and frown on such actions. In this case the law reflects the values of the society, though in a general way. In the case of intellectual property, movies and music in this case, the people have consistently shown through their actions that they believe the artists should be compensated, but that the prices and restrictions (DRM) are unreasonable. This is at odds with the law as it currently exists, bit not at odds with the values of the society as demonstrated by their actions.
I'm well-integrated in a South Korean community, so it's no news to me. You'd be astonished at Vietnamese software piracy per capita... It makes China's piracy rings look like a total joke.
Without the RIAA, it would be the same here in the US. Paranoia keeps most people from becoming pirates.
and many people dont know its illegal. its on the internet and easy to get so why should it be illegal. when i was younger i never thought of it as being illegal because it was just there. i knew stealing was illegal but didnt realise what i was doing was stealing. now i know better.
