Free Content: Good or Bad?

I read a really interesting article last night called, "Ethical Dilemmas of Providing Free Content."  It's all about whether or not crafters and artists should provide free patterns, free downloads, free instructions, etc.  The ethical dilemma is based around whether doing all that work for free actually gains you paying customers (so you can pay your rent, your health care, buy food, etc.) or not.

Obviously, I'm a fan of free.  I give you this blog 5-days-a-week for free.  But, the article did get me thinking (click through and read it).

My thoughts:

• Providing free content is (as the graphic above indicates) meant to be a hook to grab paying customers.
• Does giving stuff away for free create a culture in which people don't want to pay and feel that they shouldn't have to?
• Are certain people never going to pay no matter what you do?  They only want free content?
• Does karma come into play at all? 
• But then again, doctors don't give their services away for free.  Why should artists?
• How often do I personally purchase items from artists I follow on instagram/their blog/youtube/etc.?
• Are sites like Patreon good for artists or bad for artists?

I'm curious about your thoughts on the topic.

Thanks for stopping by!