The Intellectual Property Question

Like most people, I never really gave much thought to the idea of intellectual property before. I just accepted it was part of our lives, and that it was really no different from regular property. For example, if you write a book, or a song, or discover a new drug that cures a disease, or invent some new technology that improves people's lives, it made perfect sense that you, and you alone, should have the right to earn a profit from your creation...