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I don’t think most early-Internet pirates thought it was particularly ethical. They just didn’t care. Stallman-style ideological opposition is and was rare compared to “haha free music.”
Consider speeding. How many speeders do you think are making a principled opposition to the concept of speed limits, or even to a particular speed limit? No, they’re more interested in getting to their destinations, and would prefer to use their judgment of safe speed. This trades off against the expectation of getting caught, and the equilibrium is a bunch of people speeding just a bit.
Pirates would like to have something that belongs to someone else. That is obviously unethical, violating the rights of the creator or license-holder. It is also easy to rationalize, since any harms are very diffuse. But it is still a harm.
You are literally stealing the fruits of their labor because you don’t like their politics. It would be strictly more ethical not to consume the tainted product.
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