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Right to Instant Gratification

In advocating the right to download software, movies or television programs without paying for any of them, Charles Firth (‘Pirate Politics’, November 2009) articulates a shifting morality that could have disturbing consequences he does not appreciate – or worse, doesn’t care about. Mainlining the internet has cultivated a culture of instant gratification on a very broad scale, with all sorts of information, products, games, movies and pornography available with just a few clicks. The consequence is that cyber theft is justified on the grounds that denying someone’s capacity to be instantly gratified is deemed to be unreasonable. If this view is allowed to prevail, what does it augur for the future of all sorts of property rights as technology continues to change a host of things about the way we live?

Daniel Saks

Goonengerry, NSW

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