Instapundit, writing on his GlennReynolds.com column at MSNBC, recommends the Baen Free Library, a collection of science ficiton and fantasy books that Baen's authors have chosen to make available for free online.

First Librarian Eric Flint explains the purpose of the library, and why neither Jim Baen nor any of the participating authors are particularly afraid of losing money on this venture:

One of the things about the online debate over e-piracy that particularly galled me was the blithe assumption by some of my opponents that the human race is a pack of slavering would-be thieves held (barely) in check by the fear of prison sentences.

Oh, hogwash.

Sure, sure — if presented with a real "Devil's bargain," most people will at least be tempted. Eternal life. . . a million dollars found lying in the woods. . .

Heh. Many fine stories have been written on the subject!But how many people, in the real world, are going to be tempted to steal a few bucks?

Some, yes — precious few of whom, I suspect, read much of anything. But the truth is that most people are no more tempted to steal a few dollars than they are to spend their lunch hour panhandling for money on the streets. Partly because they don't need to, but mostly because it's beneath their dignity and self-respect.

The only time that mass scale petty thievery becomes a problem is when the perception spreads, among broad layers of the population, that a given product is priced artificially high due to monopolistic practices and/or draconian legislation designed to protect those practices. But so long as the "gap" between the price of a legal product and a stolen one remains both small and, in the eyes of most people, a legitimate cost rather than gouging, 99% of them will prefer the legal product.

Jack Valenti and Hilary Rosen might profit from reading these words. But then again, as Instapundit has pointed out so often, the MPAA and RIAA aren't fighting for profit; they're fighting for control of the means of distribution.