Piracy Cultures| Survey of File-Sharing Culture

Abstract

This paper attempts to go beyond the typical assessments of file-sharing as either an unlawful activity or a market imperfection by demonstrating that the trajectory of capitalist development in the sphere of information production and distribution is conditioned by a social system of commoning. To that end, this exploratory research begins the process of mapping the intersections of the social structures implicated in the activity of file-sharing by surveying a group of file-sharers. The article concludes by arguing that the antagonisms produced by competing visions for the social relations implicated in the production and distribution of informational and cultural goods in the networked environment should be incorporated into future analysis of file-sharing.