I'm currently in queue to download Radiohead's "In Rainbows." How much do I plan to pay for it? Exactly $0.
Am I heartless? Do I not wish to support artists? Do I merely dislike Radiohead?
The answer to all of these is NO (well, at least the last two). I have enjoyed Radiohead's music immensely in the last two decades. Ordinarily, I would have no compunction against paying for their music. However, this whole "pay what you want to" mechanic smacks of some idealistic experiment in socialism ~ kind of like wearing hemp clothes you grow in a commune.
I think that the danger of socialism happens when people confuse the successes of socialism (yes there are successes!!) with some deduced conclusions about human nature that are untrue. The conclusion people might draw from a successful online sale of "In Rainbows" is that people are in fact willing to pay for music online in general, instead of the conclusion I would argue: people are willing to pay for Radiohead's music when it's distributed in an experimental format that conforms with how they would like the music industry to function.
Anyway, I would call myself liberal, but I don't like experiments that are, in effect, exercises in socialistic masturbation. [Edit: I do not, to be clear, think that Radiohead's online sales mechanic is necessarily masturbation, only that it is in danger of being used as such.] I'm probably over-thinking this, but hey, I just got "In Rainbows" for free!
