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Is it wrong to pirate software? Or is it a victimless crime? In the absence of context, pirating is theft, and theft is wrong. But, with context -- and in the real world there is always context -- theft is not always wrong, or at least one can make that case. (1/16)

The classic song Fields of Athenry tells the apocryphal-but-directionally-accurate story of a father being sent to permanent prison (Australia), “for you stole [Lord] Trevelyan's corn, so the young might see the morn.” Was he wrong for this theft? (3/16)

Absent context, stealing food is unethical, but given context, it is at minimum understandable, and one could even argue that it is ethical. (4/16)

So, is it wrong to steal software? Unlike physical goods, the penalty on the software maker is largely in the “loss of revenue” rather than the actual cost, which might be essentially zero. Is that a real penalty? (5/16)