In which I attempt a metaphor:

I don’t know very much about either, but it occurred to me that stock trading is sorta like file sharing.  As my Economics textbook so kindly pointed out, stock brokers aren’t creating value, but they’re getting paid.

They’re getting paid for a service that happens for free between friends, but on a large scale, requires facilitators.  On that scale, it is the facilitators getting paid each time a transaction takes place, rather than the Company owning the stock.  The company only gets paid once: the first time that stock is bought.

So if anyone should be getting pissed, it should be the torrent sites! (or it’s users)(which they are)

</metaphor>

ok, so how did I do?  Fill me in where I’m being ignorant.

?