Baruch's article struck a chord with me, especially in the opening paragraph when he points out that students who pay others to write for them are often expelled. It's weird to think that as a society we care more about honesty in students' inconsequential term papers then when we drop thirty bucks for a novel that a well-known name "wrote."
I'd like to know what others think about this, as well as the backlash upon this questionable activity. I think the music industry might offer some insight...
When file sharing became prevalent a few years ago, album sales dropped, and record labels were, and still are, furious. Personally, from what I've witnessed, the more a musician was deemed an "artist" by their fans, the least they were outraged and affected. Everyone downloaded the flavor of the month songs without thinking twice about it; we all know it's crap, and while fun to dance and party to, these songs will be readily replaced in the next month or so and consumers see no point in dropping fifteen bucks on an album with one song they want, only to have that song fall out of grace shortly after. I feel that people still buy, to varying degrees, their favorite artists' music because they want to support them. Radiohead fans amply rewarded their latest release when revenues were based on optional donations. I feel we are beginning to see a shift towards paying explicitly only for music we feel is deemed credible, unique, and original.
I wonder if our society might not see something similar with books; especially those which are ghostwritten. I wonder if these works might be pirated more often, since we feel ok not paying for a book that the alleged author didn't write. Electronic books are not nearly as popular as electronic music files, but I feel it will be interesting to see how both media forms, and the way consumers pay for them, evolves as electronic forms become even more prevalent.
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The purpose of term papers is different than the purpose of novels, which I feel backs up the varying consequences of putting your name on someone else's work. The point of term papers is to learn and having someone else do your dirty work does not teach you anything, at least not what the teacher had in mind. On the other hand, I would like to think the purpose of novels is to provide readers with a good story as well as a method of producing art. This is done by whoever writes the book.
An interesting comparison in punishment occurs between the two forms of copying work. When a student slaps his/her name on a willing true author, both people get in trouble. However, when the ghostwriter's work gets taken advantage of will 100% consent, why are we only mad at the celebrity?
I wonder if ghostwriting will be something that changes our perception of authorship. The majority of people hold the view that the author creates the piece, the world, etc. However, if the author only provides a few ideas and the ghostwriter completes it, then who does it belong to? Will people eventually grow tired of ghostwriting and lose the faith?
The reason we are angry with only the celebrity and not the ghostwriter is because we have no idea who the ghost writer is. I believe that people should be more aware of ghostwriting and take books “written” by celebrities and politicians with a grain of salt. Ghostwriting seems to be overlooked in the majority of public speeches, novels, and statements.
I feel that the punishment of a student for plagiarism/turning in someone else's work is more important than worrying about those who have ghost writers because schools should be teaching students morals and values in as many ways they can. Schools are preparing students for the real world and with the punishment of big and little things, there is learning and growing done to become a better person.
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