> even the middle and upper class are forced to live in a world where they are absolutely dependent on the upper tech elite for basic things, paradoxically, we

> even the middle and upper class are forced to live in a world where they are absolutely dependent on the upper tech elite for basic things, paradoxically, we are all super dependent on the poor and low-income earners as well. If everyone was as well-off as the average HN poster, things would get expensive and services would become scarce. I don't say this to disagree with you, but rather to support the fact that we need to have a middle and lower class for our economy to function. the cost increases in basic goods (including books and entertainment), but especially housing, is destroying the middle and lower class. why would someone participate in an economy where the lowest-paying jobs don't even pay enough for a place to live? > it should not just be those who can pay who should have access to knowledge and ideas. I've thought a lot about this and particularly for prisons, where by definition there isn't a market for them to buy much of anything. They should make prisons, and perhaps hospitals, copyright-free zones because even if they brazenly "steal" content, its not really possible for the consumers to pay for it anyway. And prisons could use premium IP materials as an incentive to reward good behavior or placate them, without technically stealing anything.