That’s a narrative about yourself that you tell yourself, and it might be true about you, but it’s not true about everybody. If pirating didn’t exist then some

That’s a narrative about yourself that you tell yourself, and it might be true about you, but it’s not true about everybody. If pirating didn’t exist then some % of pirates WOULD buy more stuff. Unfortunately we don’t have great ways of differentiating people who can’t or won’t from those who would. But many people who would pay also love free stuff, so you can’t conclude takers of free stuff would not pay. And in aggregate this opting for free reduces creator compensation; hence the charges of theft.