I am speaking in pure material terms. I am not injecting morality.
This is a despicable trend because we are seeing emergent, widespread immiseration in advanced, developed countries.
The quality of our journalism is suffering, and journalism is a bulwark against corruption in a democracy. Corruption is bad not because it is immoral but because it leads to waste, which reduces our material well being. David Simon, the creator of The Wire has spoken about how important local papers were in catching corruption at the city and state level of government.
I said that this is worse than sweatshops because at least in a sweatshop the workers earn subsistence wages.
> If it is actually a product or skill that merits the money in a changing market, and if the specific one being offered is of good quality, in the long run it will harm the one unwilling to pay.
The product and skills are valuable. There is a demand for them. What we are witnessing is deflation. The demand is strong, the ability for the creators to be credited is what has broken down.
I will not just be a passive observer in all of this. The end game to this scenario is obvious. We are looking down the barrel of a new feudalism, and I do not want a period of reduced living standards and stagnation.
An entire generation has had it's prospects diminished, and the trend is only accelerating.
Perhaps all that is needed here for the market to correct this is for consumers to be educated. This is a new trend, and I would like to draw people's attention to it.
Do you still feel warm, fuzzy and excited when you buy a ticket to SXSW? When you know the festival organizers, bars, restaurants and hotels are all making money, the only people not making money are the performers and the volunteers that draw the crowds and make everything run?
In the absence of knowledge about how SXSW works the organizers are able to exploit the performers. I am not going to keep their secret for them.
I'm boycotting SXSW until their labor practices change. Who's with me?