What are the ethics behind purchasing a book from an author you don't agree with?

Submitted ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨spacecadet@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I am noticing a rise in Holocaust denial with the rising anti-Zionism coming out of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Many of these YouTubers, tiktokers, and podcasters point to the writings of David Irving as proof. I know he is a holocaust denier and an idiot, but I would like to read it so I could point out the exact flaws in Irving’s “evidence” and stop getting the comment “You haven’t even read it!”. I also don’t want to send a penny to this author, but also don’t want to break the law in getting access to it.

How would you go about this situation?

source

Comments

Sort:hotnew top

Geodad@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨minute⁩ ago
🏴‍☠️

source
ElectricAirship@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨16⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
Check if it’s available at a library?

source
neidu3@sh.itjust.works ⁨39⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
People you u disagree with may still produce something of value to you.

source
Apepollo11@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You could just buy the book second-hand. Authors don’t get any of that money, and you’ll be able to get it for much cheaper than new.

source
hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
go to a library and borrow it?

source
- spacecadet@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Not at local library
  
  source
- AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Do most public libraries have holocaust denial works?
  
  source
  - Apepollo11@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    In the UK, certainly. It’s not the library’s job to censor what the borrowers want to read, even if it’s David Icke.
    
    source
  - hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    highly doubt it, but i’ve seen some similar cases…
    
    i would just pirate tbh
    
    source
  - Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Some do, and inter-library loans are a thing.
    
    source
- dhork@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Furthermore, since it’s very likely that this author is not going to make really complex points, you could just go to the library, skim through it for an hour or two, and take notes on the two or three points worth quoting. (Or go all old-school and make photocopies of a few pages…)
  
  source
  - spacecadet@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I utilize Libby and local libraries but it’s not available.
    
    source
jeffw@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Download a book? Illegally? Online? Through a popular torrent website?

I would never do such an illegal and terrible thing!!

source
- SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  That method is horrible because the author wouldn’t make any money off of it.
  
  source
  - TranquilTurbulence@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Oh no, anyway
    
    source
  - cecilkorik@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yeah that would be bad. I think we can agree that if there’s one thing that’s even more important than the ideology of an author, it’s definitely capitalism, which is conveniently not an ideology at all, just one of the fundamental laws of the universe. That’s why it’s important to not pirate things for ideological reasons.
    
    source
solsangraal@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
annas-archive.org/search?q=david+irving

source
PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Just break the law lol. The law is made up horseshit 😆

source
voracitude@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Ugh, of course those people would point to any source that supports their current claim, without vetting the source itself. They’ll even tell you that of course they don’t support antisemitism, while spouting that antisemitic Irving shit all day, and that’s okay because they pick and choose only what they agree with out of the rhetoric. As though they couldn’t find sources that support their point without the concomitant antisemitism.

First and foremost, then, I’d go about this by not denying the genocide in Gaza and not saying stuff such as “I bet you love Palestine” like it’s a pejorative, spacecadet@lemm.ee.

My second point would be to recognise that there is no moral or ethical reason not to pirate Irving’s works. If you were able to find it at a library, it would be there because someone paid a publisher for the copy and likely some kind of library license. Some of that goes to Irving. There is no way to deny him profit and acquire his work legally. So, pirate it. Fuck that guy.

source
- spacecadet@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  For some reason I don’t like Nazis, second most popular book in Gaza is Mein Kampf
  
  source
  - voracitude@lemmy.world ⁨51⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
    This is about the shittiest argument you could make. Good luck in your search, maybe you’ll find some self-awareness along the way.
    
    source
  - PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
    Source?
    
    source
AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Legally, you could buy a used copy if you could find one.

source
TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You could… hahum… found it there, lying on the internet… hum

source
theywilleatthestars@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You could probably pirate it from somewhere

source
nokturne213@sopuli.xyz ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I would start by asking Anna if she has the book in her archive.

source
leds@feddit.dk ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Threw out Gaiman’s books , needs to be purged from history ( except Good Omens of course, because of Pratchett)

source
- bitcrafter@programming.dev ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Huh? What did he do?
  
  source
  - starlinguk@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Rape women.
    
    source
Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Do you have to agree with everyone you give your money to? What sort of economy would that be?

Buy the book on the premise that you want access to the content he spent energy and time to produce. Just like you’d pay to get access to any kind of content that you want to consume because it is the fair thing to do.

Or get it at the library like everyone else said.

Pirating it is not ethical of course, but furthermore it becomes hypocritical and intellectually dishonest if you would criticize some else for pirating content produced by any other author.

source
- cecilkorik@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  Do you have to agree with everyone you give your money to? What sort of economy would that be?
  
  Probably a pretty nice one, actually.
  
  source
  - Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Yeah isolating yourself from everyone you disagree with is awesome, truly nothing bad ever comes out of it.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
theneverfox@pawb.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Just live your life

Anyone with enough money to influence society already has enough money to influence society. Given them another $3 doesn’t make you complicit

If they have problematic views but aren’t pushing them on society… Well, no one is perfect.

Ultimately, voting with your wallet is a lie. Best sellers aren’t the best books, they’re the ones boosted by publishers and public figures. Just like the record industry - there’s people who are literally choosing the winners and losers

What’s the ultimate ethical implication of using ketchup at McDonald’s vs buying a dipping sauce? There certainly is one, tiny as it might be. Use that energy to do good things, you’ll make a far greater difference calling a senator than buying a lifetime of books

Or just sidestep it all and pirate it or check it out at a library

source
- SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I bought a book about communism yesterday off of Amazon.
  
  source