There Is Something Seriously Wrong With America’s Youth

No, I’m not talking about promiscuity, pot use, pop music, or anything else that gives religious blowhards a coronary. I am talking about the unabashed acceptance of theft as being fully moral. David Pogue, in a report for the New York Times, shared some disturbing information:

I tell the audience: “I’m going to describe some scenarios to you. Raise your hand if you think what I’m describing is wrong.”

[...]

In an auditorium of 500, no matter how far my questions went down that garden path, maybe two hands went up. I just could not find a spot on the spectrum that would trigger these kids’ morality alarm. They listened to each example, looking at me like I was nuts.

Finally, with mock exasperation, I said, “O.K., let’s try one that’s a little less complicated: You want a movie or an album. You don’t want to pay for it. So you download it.”

There it was: the bald-faced, worst-case example, without any nuance or mitigating factors whatsoever.

“Who thinks that might be wrong?”

Two hands out of 500.

Frankly, this is alarming. Some of the scenarios he describes in his article are undoubtedly in a moral grey area. For example, his example of saving an HBO program to DVD for later viewing, is not clearly wrong. He is legally allowed to do that, and as a paying customer, he should exploit timeshifting technology to allow for maximum value to be derived from services purchased. But, DVDs are traditionally an archival format, and unlike on a DVR, where space is limited, it is not as likely that the recorded material will ever be deleted. The law is designed to allow personal review, not permanent archiving in place of purchasing the DVD of a show or movie. So that could go either way. And he has other scenarios that are equally fit to be debated.

But, this example ought to leave no room for doubt. In it, the theoretical person wants something, but refuses to pay for it, and thus instead steals it. Call it downloading, but that doesn’t change anything. What you are stealing isn’t physical, so no brick-and-mortar retailers have revenue losses from your shrinkage. However, theft is still occurring, and people are still suffering. The studios lose out from piracy. Now, people love to rail against “the man” and fight “corporate greed” so their willingness to rip off profitable companies is not surprising. But it isn’t that simple. Aside from the hopefully obvious fact that a person or company’s wealth does not make them a legitimate target for theft, it must be noted that not just a few rich people are hurting from it. Major entertainment companies are massive sources of employment. And the average employee isn’t an Oscar-winning star that makes $20 million a film. They are the key grips, the set painters, the custodians, and the mailroom workers. When money becomes tight, who do you think they’re going to hand pink slips to? It sure as hell isn’t the major film star, whose films open at $40 million dollars, or the executive who’s making money for the shareholders.

Speaking of the shareholders, they too suffer from piracy. When people steal copyrighted works, the copyright holding entertainment companies, which footed the cost of production, are never duly paid for their investment. That hurts their bottom line, and in turn their ability to meet projections, or sometimes turn a quarterly profit at all. In turn, the stock takes a major hit, and those holding shares lose money. And guess who the average shareholder is? They’re your mechanic, your kid’s math teacher, and the guy down the block planning to retire early. Sure, the largest shareholders are wealthy individuals in some of the highest positions of authority, but they are not the only stockholders. Nor are they the most heavily hit by piracy. It is the common man that suffers from it.

So clearly, theft is being done by pirates, and their victims are your neighbors. But so what? The pirate wouldn’t have paid to see the movie anyway, right? So there was no real loss, was there? Wrong. If the consumer had a real interest in seeing something, they would pay the small cost required to see or own it legally. If a ticket to the theater costs too much, try Netflix. Hell, wait for it to air on basic cable. The fact is, if you are watching something of your own free will, then you have at least some interest in it. That being the case, you are obligated to pay for it. If you don’t think it is worth whatever tiny cost you’ll have to incur to watch it, then your interest is minimal. That is when you vote with your dollars, by not watching it. Skipping a movie you feel doesn’t earn it’s viewing cost is legitimate. Stealing it is not.

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