Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

They're not going to starve when my friends share their media which I wouldn't have bought anyway with me.

No a pro-piracy argument, but most artists get fractions of a penny from the sales of media anyway. Only the biggest stars are paid a fair share of the profits. I always try to find a way to support directly or use a platform (bandcamp, steam) that adds some value and gives a majority to the creator.

The answers to both are easy and the US could start to fix it tomorrow if there was the will. Hell New York is already making motions in that direction.

Red Vienna style public housing, public transit, and large scale decomodification of staples. Not letting crops rot in fields and silos etc. We could feed the world. Not just our population. There's no profit in that or society in general. That's why the wealthy are working hard to destroy both.

sharing I guess

The same way people who make millions ensure I'm able to afford food and housing. They don't. We don't. Everyone's in it for themselves to some extent, because in some situations, nobody's going to reach out and lift you up if you need it. We're all just trying to survive.

There are a lot of people who make movies, music, and games who bust their ass and deserve to eat and be sheltered. That's fine, but those people, just like you and me, have the means of taking care of themselves. You are not ethically or morally obligated to care about a stranger's welfare, especially if the stranger does not care about yours. It's fine to be altruistic; I'm not saying it isn't, but it's not an ethical imperative either.

Most people buy what they can and share/borrow what they can't.

If someone working in entertainment goes without a meal because I bought my meal rather than starving to buy a Blu-ray they were in, I'm not their problem. That one sale isn't going to put a meal on their table. A hundred Blu-ray sales might not even do that.

donations and commissions. That's how modern artists operate, for example

Massive public financing coming from the government. Damn, I don't know know how many Italian movies are turning a profit from sales - but I doubt it gets to 1%. Still, they keep making movies.

It's strange how you ignored that this is primarily about software piracy and he makes a living off software. I think he understands.

This "just asking questions" thing is just pure intellectual cowardice from you.

Only from free and open source sustenance, he is disgusted by anything else.