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Is it wrong to download music? How we answer this question depends on how we view "progress." Some argue that technological advancement should be discouraged if it hurts business. The oil industry, for instance, doesn't exactly seem stoked about alternative sources of energy. You might have gathered, also, that many traditional businessmen are not fond of the Internet, because blogs, wikis, and websites in general present a mode of competition they don't understand and in which they cannot excel. For them, Western capitalism is about competition and ologopolies. Innovative thought goes by the wayside because it is not profitable.

Others disagree vehemently, arguing that humanity should continue making progress-technologically, medically, or spiritually-thereby enhancing our quality of life. One profound implication of such technical and moral growth would be that fewer and fewer mega-corporations will be able to screw us over. Predictably, the megacorporations are less than thrilled about that prospect. But times are changing nonetheless, and this so-called "problem" of music piracy is simply one implication of our rapid technological advancement.

We are fast approaching a day when record companies are completely unnecessary. The question is: what, if anything, should be done about it? Perhaps we can look to history for the answer. Did horse and buggy makers bicker at the automobile industry? Did candlestick factories condemn Edison for inventing the light bulb? Probably not, because unlike today's corporations, capitalist enterprises of the 19th and 20th centuries were excited about growth and change. They understood that the market dictated its own needs. Changing times rendered old business models obsolete. The basic business principle of "supply and demand" did not contain a built-in component whereby suppliers get to oppress consumers who no longer have a demand for their product.

In our capitalist society these are not new ideas. So it surprises me to hear record companies talk about innovation as if it's against the law.

Generally, it is customary for business is to adapt to consumer needs. But the case of teenagers downloading music is a different one. Teenagers are vulnerable and easily intimidated, and they lack the financial resources to fight back against immoral lawsuits brought against them by wealthy business tycoon. For example, Robert Santangelo was 11 years old when he allegedly downloaded music from the Internet. Eleven! And five record companies

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