From Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom
(Dharmamitra Translation)

Question: As for people who steal, there are people in the present era who praise them and see their boldness as admirable. Why not engage in this sort of thievery then?

Response: If one takes something which has not been given, this is the mark of being bad. Although there are lesser infractions within the realm of stealing, they are all bad. This is comparable to mixing poison into fine food or mixing poison into bad food. Although there are distinctions between fine and poor fare, still, in the sense that they have both been mixed with poison, they are no different.

This is also like stepping into fire when it is light out and when it is dark. Although there is the difference of day as opposed to night, they are the same as regards the burning of one's feet. The foolish people of the present age are not aware of the resultant retribution from offenses and merit as it occurs in the two periods of time. Devoid of thoughts of humanity and loving-kindness, they observe that a man is able to use his strength to invade and take another's wealth by force and then praise it as being a measure of his strength. The buddhas, worthies and aryas maintain loving-kindness and pity for all. They have completely understood that there is no deterioration in the coming of disasters and misfortunes [which manifest as retribution] in the three periods of time. And so this is an activity which they do not praise. For this reason one should know that all offenses involving forceful theft are not good. It is an activity not done by any practitioner who is a good person.