BSA: Policymakers should want industries to be larger
The Business Software Alliance, in its 2005 legislative agenda document, deals briefly with at least two arguments by copyright skeptics. This response is particularly bold, or candid, on BSA's part.
Some have attempted to paint copyright piracy as a victimless crime, arguing that "if I make a copy of a computer program, you still get to keep your copy, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing piracy offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the piracy rate, the larger the IT sector and the greater the benefits.
It's not unusual for a trade group to say that it wants its industry to be larger and more profitable, but it's amazing that the only refutation BSA offers to the notion that copying is a useful, productive activity is the idea that preventing copying will make the software industry bigger!
The most natural reading of "benefits" appears to be "profits", although it's always possible that BSA is saying that a larger IT sector would benefit its customers, which is not at all obvious.
Why should anyone other than the software industry inherently want the software industry to be bigger? Someone at Red Hat addressed this question head-on four or five years ago, saying that his goal was to make the software industry much smaller, and to provide greater benefits to software users and customers in the process. In his view, the software industry was much too large and was extracting much more money than necessary, partly because of limited competition and partly because of defects in its (for lack of a better term) business models.
The idea that helping a business sector get larger and richer is a primary duty of legislators or of the public is so peculiar that it bears trying to come up with a few parallel arguments.
Some have attempted to paint printing as a victimless crime, arguing that "if I print a book, you can buy it from me, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing printing offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the printing rate, the larger the scribes and bards sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint conjugal sexual intimacy as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you and I have intimate relations, we both derive pleasure and a sense of togetherness, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing sex among committed partners offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the intimacy rate among committed partners, the larger the prostitution sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint recreational sports leagues as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you and I play baseball, we both get physically fit, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing recreational sports offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of noncommercial sports activity, the larger the professional athletic sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint making dinner for your family as a victimless crime, arguing that "if I cook you dinner, we both enjoy dinner together, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing eating at home offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of family dinner preparation, the larger the restaurant sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint classical chamber music ensembles as a victimless crime, arguing that "if we all perform Schubert together, we all improve our proficiency with our instruments and enjoy the music, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing chamber music offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of chamber music performance, the larger the professional orchestra and recorded music retailing sectors, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint the sale of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you buy medicine from me, you can use it to treat yourself, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing nonprescription medication sales offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of nonprescription medication availability, the larger the demand for physician consultations, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint reading books as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you read a book, you gain knowledge, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing reading offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of reading, the larger the television audience and hence the larger the advertising sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint gardening as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you grow herbs and vegetables in your garden, you can eat them, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing gardening offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of gardening, the larger the supermarket and agricultural sectors, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint painting as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you paint pictures, you can hang them in your house, and I can enjoy them, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing painting offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of painting, the larger the professional offset printing sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint children's games as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you and I play tag, we have fun, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing children's unstructured recreation offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of unstructured play, the larger the arcade sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint letting guests stay in your house as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you visit, I enjoy your company, you have a place to stay, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing hospitality toward guests and visitors offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of uncompensated or reciprocal in-home hospitality, the larger the hotel sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint ham radio as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you operate an amateur radio station, you and I can communicate across long distances, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing the prevalence of amateur radio operators offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of amateur radio communication, the larger the long distance telephone services sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint throwing parties as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you hold a party, we can celebrate together, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing partying offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of noncommercial parties, the larger the nightclub and bar sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint jogging as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you jog regularly, you improve your cardiovascular health, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing jogging offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of jogging, the larger the coronary care and heart medication sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint serfs becoming independent freeholding farmers as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you grow your own crops on your own land, you become self-sufficient outside of the feudal system, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing the emancipation of serfs offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of emancipation, the more substantial the payment of tribute by the serfs to their liege lord, and the more his dominions and his prosperity can expand.
Some have attempted to paint generating electricity as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you generate electricity, you can sell it to me, I can illuminate my house and refrigerate my food, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing the generation of electricity offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of electrical utility connectivity, the larger the tallow, oil, and ice sectors, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint making aerobics tapes as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you follow someone's workout routine, you become conditioned, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing aerobic conditioning offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of aerobic exercise, the larger the membership-based gymnasium and personal trainer sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint having a foreign pen-pal as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you correspond with me, we can learn one another's languages and improve our language proficiency, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing international correspondence offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of correspondence with foreign pen-pals, the larger the foreign language school sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint tooth-brushing as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you brush your teeth regularly, you improve your dental hygiene, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing tooth-brushing offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of tooth-brushing, the larger the dental prosthetic, dental filling, and dental surgical equipment sectors, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint not paying a capitation tax to the established church as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you are not compelled to support the established church, you can worship in your own way according to your individual conscience, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing the avoidance of compulsory payments to the established church offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of dissent from the established church, the larger the revenue the church can obtain, which permits it to expand and furthers the glory of God.
Some have attempted to paint manufacturing semiconductors as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you sell me semiconductors, I can build digital devices with relatively high speed and low power consumption, and we are both better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing semiconductor manufacturing offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of semiconductor use, the larger the vacuum tube sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to paint walking to work as a victimless crime, arguing that "if you walk to work, you arrive at work, you can do your job, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Reducing walking to work offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: the lower the rate of walking to work, the larger the automotive sector, and the greater the benefits.
Some have attempted to suggest that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, arguing that, if all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is totally dissolved, they can do all acts and things which independent states may of right do, and we are all better off." This is hardly the case.Preventing the independence of the colonies offers direct benefits. The equation is a basic one: imposing taxes on the colonies without their consent allows the maintenance and expansion of the British Empire, and the greater glory and honour of his majesty George the Third, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc., and the less autonomy the colonies attain, the greater the benefits.
