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

Submitted ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨spacecadet@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨nostupidquestions@lemmy.world⁩

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?

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Comments

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hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
go to a library and borrow it?

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- Walop@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  At least in some countries authors get a compensation every time their book is borrowed from a library. So you might still be indirectly supporting the author when borrowing from a library. Also if there’s enough demand, the library may acquire additional copies and the prices for libraries are higher than for consumers.
  
  equityatlas.org/how-do-authors-make-money-from-li…
  
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- Mariemarion@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Dunno how it works where you are, but I (author) get money from library books. Much less than when a reader buys it (duh), but it pays for nice Christmas presents.
  
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- spacecadet@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Not at local library
  
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- AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Do most public libraries have holocaust denial works?
  
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  - Akasazh@feddit.nl ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Academic libraries do
    
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  - Apepollo11@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ 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.
    
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  - Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Some do, and inter-library loans are a thing.
    
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  - hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    highly doubt it, but i’ve seen some similar cases…
    
    i would just pirate tbh
    
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- dhork@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ 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…)
  
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  - spacecadet@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I utilize Libby and local libraries but it’s not available.
    
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AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Legally, you could buy a used copy if you could find one.

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