They don't feel like people; they're just NPCs.
So, did you murder everyone in Cyseal after you finished quests in this area? It is free XP after all, and if they don't feel like people, who cares?
And if they don't care - why don't steal from them? You should have no moral qualms. If that's true, there is absolutely no need to add more possibilities to get gold without stealing.
So:
Either they feel like people, and you feel bad about hurting them - so not hurting them and missing lot of gold and xp but feeling good about yourself, or hurting them and getting a lot of gold and xp but feeling like crap, is a tough choice. In which case everything is ok, and this whole argument is stupid.
Or they don't feel like people and there is no logical reason to not take their stuff, so devs shouldn't care if player can amass enough wealth to buy skillbooks etc. without stealing. In which case, this whole argument is stupid.
So, to summarize: this whole argument is stupid. Period.
