Speaking completely honestly here.
Yes, I pirated when I was younger - Can't buy a software without money in that sense. But also, I never made money from it. I used linux (I remember the hassle with SuSE 6.2 back then). Yes, back then it was easier to find it online than in a shop - I was lucky that the mentioned SuSE distribution was in stock in our local electronics shop.
I come originally from a relatively remote place (St. Moritz) - which basically means, you either have to order everything online, or take a two hour drive to the next bigger City (Chur) to shop. Needless to say there was no internet, or very limited internet back then. So when Internet became feasible - a couple hours of waiting "for free" was easier than convince the parents to drive to Chur (or take the train), buy the pack at the next big retailer and drive back.
But that's exactly what I did with all my guitar stuff aka Hardware. You can't download hardware (yet), so my big guitar setup was bought by myself with either hard earned cash, or hard earned money from my parents. My parents also showed me to assess value to things then.
Nowadays with sample libraries, I don't pirate at all. I prefer open source whenever I get the chance, but that isn't there with quality sample libraries. So, my hard earned money goes there. I want to support the devs and also don't want to do illegal stuff. It might sound ridiculous, but I don't want to run the slightest chance of someday, when a big gig is incoming, somehow somebody shows up an I get jailed for piracy. Bye-bye career.
I actively try to convince people not to use pirated software - with more or less success of course. I understand people come from different background, different monetary situations and all that. I am also very liberal concerning pirating a library for trying out (since somehow Demos are no longer as widespread as they used to be). But - in my opinion - everybody has a certain amount of money - hobby costs money, business costs money. Do you just want to make music for the sake of making music? Hell, get GPO for $150 or take some stuff that is shipped with other stuff. The expensive libraries are professional (semi-pro/sophisticated amateur) grade - do you need that? You don't need bloody Sage accounting program, which costs $1k+ when you can use GnuCash for you household budgeting. Why do you need photoshop, when there's gimp or Krita?
I know Professional tools are always preferred - but when you can't afford it, you bloody can't. Save up. Just because software can be easily obtained doesn't mean that it should be pirated (same goes for movies and music of course). Oh, that shiny new library that is so cool costs $500? Come on - if you come from a country where the overall salary is $1/Month, I get it that pirating seems to be the only option. But then again - do you need a professional tool for yourself?
But that issue goes further of course. I can afford a $500 Library, even though I might think twice over it. That doesn't mean everybody does. So - If that would cost me x% of my income - why not price a library accordingly for a foreign market? Yes, I know that doesn't work, but I hope you get my point.
I hate pirating if it's for the reason of "I just want to have it". I am ok with it, when it's an "inoffical demo" when you purchase the product later (or delete it). I don't support a damn kid who thinks he needs the best, and since he can't afford it, he downloads it illegally. I am honestly on the fence with people whose income just is bad, even though they are hard working and (in another country) could easily afford it.
Bottom line: I am against it because a) professional tools for professionals - and businesses can afford it, b) If you want to go professional, you should do so with the financial backing needed, ergo you can afford it (take GPO instead of Berlin), c) usually there's a reason why it's expensive - yes, some overpriced stuff is there, as always, but people are trying make a living there as well (see Polo shirts from e.g. Ralph Lauren vs No-Name. Yes, Lauren has a certain quality, but still is rediculously overpriced).
My thought here might have jumped a bit, excuse, if anything is not clearly articulated, sorry