Actually, in many places (specially what we call '1st world countries'), removing the 'morals' makes almost all theft rational economic choices. This doesn't make people steal the small store where they are not looking at you. That would make them thieves.<p>Pirates, though, don't feel like they are thieves, and that's the point, not the economics. They think 'if I copy this' that other person won't lose his copy' and 'I wouldn't have bought that if it wasn't available for free'. These are the rationalizations people do, not 'its cheaper stealing this and risking getting caught than buying it'. Most don't think 'stealing' and 'pirating' belong together. Therefore, it doesn't really inflict the same 'moral' cost you suggest.