"...I think that lot of them are just hoarders who collect software."

I tend to agree. Look at the tons of Poser stuff that people have here, either free or bought and paid for that they have never used and probably much of it they will never use :-) It's also impossible to quantify the actual loss, considering that many of the "users" couldn't have bought it anyway. It's also impossible to know to what degree illegal user's positive word of mouth may actually generate some sales. None of that is to attempt to negate the legal/moral aspects of the issue, just that it's no simple equation.

One can argue that movies and music are different in that people are more likely to actually consume them than they are to learn and use complex software. Even there though, when I read about the huge collections of mp3's and movies some people have downloaded, I wonder how much of their hoards they actually view or listen to.

Once laws are enacted, they are almost never revoked, even when the 'danger' that led to them has passed (if it ever really justifed them to begin with). If administrations are willing to tap their opponent's phones and burgle their offices when it was illegal, what can one expect when they have the authority to do it? It's not a matter of inherently bad people necessarily. Good people will always be tempted to justify their actions in the name of security, order, profit etc. Unfortunately, too many people seem to have the atitude that as long as they're not doing anything illegal (yet), the gov't should have the power to do just about anything to catch thepeople who are. I think that a lot of people in power in places besides N. Korea may see the internet as a potential threat that needs to be controlled - for our own good of course.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken