And much more knowledgable about many things. Wealth is measured in many ways, and knowledge, mainly public IP, is one of the most important. The theft is in breaking the contract. You are free not to buy his software. Because of illegal tieing practicies like forced bundling with PCs, this wasn't true at all.
People can, however, band together to cooperate in narrow fashions to confront a regressive force.
Credit Unions exist to avoid paying unnecissary profit to banks for the flow of money. These things are not communist due to their prevention of a profit on every activity. They are a recognition of a commodity situation and its reduction to a sort of economic mechanization. Yes, though not material. Depends on definitions.