I've yet to see many people who "need" PGP who cannot pay for I'm wrong, but that's how I see it. In any case, while we may doubts about the patentability of mathematical algorithms, tha the world works. Certain property rights are reasonable. Argui RSADSI has no rights to a patent on public key methods is a di matter than arguing that someone's need and inability to pay i taking software.
I think what Matt was trying to get at is that privacy should be free The day that I feel the need to have to pay $100 to ensure that my business is nobody's business but my own is the day I leave this country for a nice outlet free desert island. I know that it was wrong to steal the RSA code for a shareware alternative, but you gotta understand the stakes here: Breaking a patend, or keeping the government from snooping on each and everyone of us. Sure, RSA is great, and they should get payed for their time programming, yap, yap, yap. But when Salk found a vacine for Polio, did he have a little fit and say "no! you are all going to die because I am a greedy little bastard", no, he made the vacine a sort of share-ware. I know there is a great deal of difference between death and software, but just tell that to to the people involved with Inslaw(hope you are all familiar with Promis software).