Piracy is Just

[Matt] Mason's argument was sensible enough: Pirates aren't anti-capitalists, they're punk capitalists. "D.I.Y. encourages us to reject authority and heirarchy, advocating that we can and should produce as much as we consume," Mason writes in the opening chapter of his homage to piracy. "Since punk, this idea has been quietly changing the fabric of our economic system, replacing outdated ideas with twenty-first-century upgrades of Punk Capitalism." ...piracy isn't just another business model;...

 Who Profits from "Free"?

So everyone agrees these days: Hooray for pirates! Art and culture (or, more discouragingly, "content") should be free. Techno-utopians of the left and right envision a future in which everything ever made is accessible, at no cost, with a click of a button. Those who think "free" as in speech envision a new digital order offering an inclusive cultural commons and mass enlightenment through access to information; those who think "free" as in beer merely see a cheaper way to get rich. "Just be...