It is not OK. You are not entitled to anything because you can't pay for it. If you can't afford it, you do what you can to afford it or look for alternatives that are more affordable. Don't steal - especially don't steal the tools of your trade.
// yes, I know, on the scale of things this ranks a lot lower than the monetary fine / years in jail would seem to indicate
The crime may be just as bad, or worse perhaps, but it's not "stealing".
You are correct, legally it is not theft. But we've been using the word in a way that is not legally strict for a quite a while.
We, of all people, should appreciate and insist on the distinction.
Depending on which country you live in, it can be considered theft or not, I believe.
Is identity theft stealing? You are merely borrowing someone's information. The original information is never gone, only copied.
I also don't know what you are getting at. It seems most people insist it's not stealing to make it seem like it's alright.
However, generally when we speak here, we are speaking English, not Legalese, and "steal" is acceptable.
The theoretical justification for IP law from an economic point of view is to correct the inability of the free market to efficiently allocate resources for the production of IP. The free market fails in this because IP is not appropriable and not indivisible. The IP law solution is to give, by force of law, those attributes to IP, making them behave legally like physical goods.