Is Discussion of the Inefficiencies of Copyright Protection Strictly Verboten?

Suppose back in the days of the Soviet Union a young man in Moscow was fined $600,000 for selling blue jeans on the black market. Would the news media just report the sentence and discuss whether or not the convict was repentant? Possibly, but my guess is that the article would comment on how the Soviet Union was failing in getting consumer products to its population. It might include some economic analysis mentioning the enormous losses that the economy suffers by banning simple trade. It might even treat our black market blue jean dealer as a hero. Anyhow, why is there no discussion of economic issues when a student gets a $675,000 fine for transferring copyrighted music over the Internet? The copyright system imposes enormous waste on the economy, including the enforcement costs associated with prosecutions like this one. We know of other ways in which creative and artistic work can be financed. Is there some reason that the copyright protected media never discusses them?

--Dean Baker