A common argument against digital piracy is that unauthorized copying deprives
content producers of income, so therefore we shouldn't pirate. This could be considered the argument from guilt.
However, it can be shown that digital piracy always benefits the pirates more, financially, than it harms
the copyright holder.
If copyright requires us to care more about copyright holders, who we don't know, than
we care about our friends, who we do know, then no one will ever rationally choose
not to pirate, because we all care more about our friends than we care about strangers.
The conclusion that the "guilt" argument, by itself, does not justify copyright,
follows even if we do care
about the "losses" that artists suffer due to piracy – because any guilt we might feel can be assuaged
by making voluntary donations, which would still be cheaper than paying what copyright makes us pay.