Have a read of this article: http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/7274. Let us assume for a moment that the results of the study are correct. Is stealing music ok if it doesn't hurt the things we value? Are somethings inherently unethical or does the most probable result of an action determine if it is unethical? Is it unethical to drive a car drunk? Is it more unethical if you drive a car drunk and hit a person?
Is "music illegally downloaded" just a market variable? As downloading increases, profits decrease and the incentive to produce music decreases. That's the theory. Inferring from the article, it seems that the incentive to produce music might be something other than pure profits. In a world that downloads music, we will have the same number of artists and the same quality of music but fewer rich producers and giant record labels. If we are happy to live in such a world, does it mean that the act is ethical?
Framed another way, is there a value in ethics above and beyond the utilitarian?
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