What happened to "you get what you pay for" and "if you're not the customer you are the product"? We already know what happens with free content on the internet: it turns to shit. And no, wikipedia or open source are not models you can apply to most books. The ones you can, we already have them: free programming books and the sorts.
Do you want books to be the next low effort, low quality, ads ridden, ideology pushing, click bait, spam, micro transactions, gambling medium? Asking for them to be free (as in beer) is the way to go.
Another thing: as a long time pirate from a poor country myself I never understood the need to morally justify piracy. I do it because I want to spend money elsewhere, not because I feel it is my right or it should be. I do it because I can and I profit from it. My head will not explode with cognitive dissonance if I accept I am wronging others to help myself.
> Do you want books to be the next low effort, low quality, ads ridden, ideology pushing, click bait, spam, micro transactions, gambling medium?
Were books and works that came before copyright law was invented "low effort" and "low quality"? What kind of mental gymnastics does it take to equate IP laws with creativity? It's rather with and because of copyright laws that literature and educational content have gone down the drain. It's now that many books get written with the sole intention of it getting consoomed by as many people as possible, riddled with dark patterns and cringy styles. Information and ideas are NOT your private property if you make them public.
Do you want books to be the next low effort, low quality, ads ridden, ideology pushing, click bait, spam, micro transactions, gambling medium? Asking for them to be free (as in beer) is the way to go.
Another thing: as a long time pirate from a poor country myself I never understood the need to morally justify piracy. I do it because I want to spend money elsewhere, not because I feel it is my right or it should be. I do it because I can and I profit from it. My head will not explode with cognitive dissonance if I accept I am wronging others to help myself.