Doubt that your subconscious would allow you to derive any durable value from pirated works. ‘you get what you pay for’ is culturally conditioned from birth. It similar to those who want success yet despise success in others. It’s a catch 22.
For some reason in my head, this song seems appropriate at this time. Don't blame me, blame my brain. It and I are not getting along lately.
Publishing or posting brief exerpts can fall under the "fair use" doctrine. When you distribute a significant amount of a copyrighted work, or the whole thing, that certainly isn't fair use. Fair use can involve scholarly citations, socially relevant quotes, Quoting a passage as proof of a point or concept, or even satire to which courts often grant a very wide leeway. Fair use definitely does not cover distributing a PDF of the complete work, or a torrent, or posting it on usenet. Doesn't matter whether it is free or not.
In my case, most artists are dead, but you are right. I wish this world was fair for all. Very little is culturally conditioned for me, certainly extremely little when it comes to value defined by money, but I understand from business experience that the concept works wonderfully for most sales.