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Re:Russia to legalize software piracy by throwaway894345 on Tuesday March 08, 2022 @10:43AM (#30601105)
The analogy is as accurate as an analogy can be, but let's not debate analogies lest we get mired in pedantry. Let's talk about Russia: by not invading Ukraine and needlessly slaughtering civilians, Russia was able to enjoy the privilege of participation in a global economy and all of the entailed prosperity. When Russia chose to opt out of the global economy, its domestic economy predictably tanked. Sanctions are one of a few options at the west's disposal for preventing the slaughter of Ukrainian civilians without risking escalation toward a nuclear war.

Ideally Russians would understand that sanctions are a consequence of their government's murderous invasion and that they represent a mild inconvenience compared to the plight of Ukrainians--if a given Russian can't muster the courage to protest (yes, I understand protests are illegal, which makes those who do protest all the more commendable) then I hope he can muster the courage not to complain about sanctions (similarly I hope westerners can muster the courage not to complain about high gas prices and so on).

Re:Russia to legalize software piracy by ClumsyPilot on Tuesday March 08, 2022 @01:17PM (#30603531)
I am not trying to justify a hideous war, i am trying to demonstrate a point:

The threat of cutting off trade is an attempt to 'twist the arm' of a country. In this case its justified, cool. (Although some of them like banning Russian cat breeds, seem questionable)

But then why are posters above pretending that many countries, which signed up this IP regime under threat fo being cutoff from trade, didn't do that under duress?

Re:Russia to legalize software piracy by throwaway894345 on Tuesday March 08, 2022 @01:38PM (#30603943)
> But then why are posters above pretending that many countries, which signed up this IP regime under threat fo being cutoff from trade, didn't do that under duress?

Because most people reserve "duress" for a threat to one's rights. In the case of nations, these rights are generally territorial integrity (basically, the right not to be invaded or attacked) and political independence (the right to self-govern, including to choose with whom and under which terms a nation engages in trade or other treaties and alliances). While there are certainly powerful incentives for cooperation, it's incoherent to argue that exercising one's right to self-govern is coercive and thus out-of-bounds.