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I agree that the analogy doesn't have the most solid basis, but it is a hilarious quote.
Personally, I see this turmoil coming to rest in time. When compared against current forms of distribution and copying, the old model of compensation for writing doesn't work. However, if writers get the lion share of the profit, and distributors the small fraction that writers used to get, costs for information can fall to a level that can compete with piracy. Piracy does have costs and inconveniences, and when you distribute information in a way that pays the creator, you can afford build user-friendly platforms that provide value in categorization, search, archiving, recommendation, etc.