[Borodog]

Here's what I will grant the proponents of intellectual property rights: It just feels wrong that I could work and slave over a novel for 10 years, and then you can just "take" it, print it, and sell it. However, I have been unable to turn that into a justification for IP, any more than I can accept the socialist's feeling that it is wrong that people should have to pay for their own health care (for example). Furthermore, because we've had IP laws for quite some time now, the concept is ingrained in our culture. IP laws actually create a kind of economic scarcity of ideas that would not otherwise exist. This leads to ever more vigorous application and extension of those laws. I can't say that people would feel "robbed" if culturally they did not have the expectation of IP protection.