I think we have to distinguish two arguments the pirates make. Some are saying that they intend to consume your content one way or another, and if you offer it in a convenient medium for an appropriate price then they'll buy it, and if not then they'll pirate it. That's an economic argument. You could call it an economic threat and try to make the moral argument that they shouldn't be doing that, but unless you can actually stop them in a just and cost-effective manner then you're just back to barking up the wrong tree if your goal is to actually accomplish anything.
On the other hand, there are pirates who argue that if the content provider doesn't provide the content in a convenient format at an appropriate price then it's justifiable to pirate it (rather than just doing it whether it's justifiable or not). But that's not really an argument at all. It has to be justifiable because of something. And if it isn't then the pirates are in the same pit as the article: No reasoning and no plan. But maybe the pirate argues that copyright is unjustified whatsoever as a constraint on expression or what have you. Maybe they make an argument about the social contract, where copyright is granted to promote dissemination of new works, and works that are created but not sufficiently widely disseminated are a breach of the contract on the part of the copyright holder that justifies a breach on the part of the consumer. Maybe some other justification. But these are inherently economic and policy arguments with correspondingly clear plans of action: Abolish or reduce copyright, blunt the social cost of the copyright monopoly by allowing as fair use any use the copyright holder fails to supply to the market on reasonable terms, etc.
The article doesn't choose any such premise to attack, it just says "no, dirty pirates are bad and piracy is wrong." That isn't rebutting anything. It doesn't solve anything. There is no plan of action. It's just "no" -- how is that good for anything?
On the other hand, there are pirates who argue that if the content provider doesn't provide the content in a convenient format at an appropriate price then it's justifiable to pirate it (rather than just doing it whether it's justifiable or not). But that's not really an argument at all. It has to be justifiable because of something. And if it isn't then the pirates are in the same pit as the article: No reasoning and no plan. But maybe the pirate argues that copyright is unjustified whatsoever as a constraint on expression or what have you. Maybe they make an argument about the social contract, where copyright is granted to promote dissemination of new works, and works that are created but not sufficiently widely disseminated are a breach of the contract on the part of the copyright holder that justifies a breach on the part of the consumer. Maybe some other justification. But these are inherently economic and policy arguments with correspondingly clear plans of action: Abolish or reduce copyright, blunt the social cost of the copyright monopoly by allowing as fair use any use the copyright holder fails to supply to the market on reasonable terms, etc.
The article doesn't choose any such premise to attack, it just says "no, dirty pirates are bad and piracy is wrong." That isn't rebutting anything. It doesn't solve anything. There is no plan of action. It's just "no" -- how is that good for anything?