Economics on the High Seas
It’s not easy being a pirate on the high seas. There is always a possibility that your crew will kill you and take your share of the loot. Since piracy is criminal by definition, you can’t call on the police or courts to enforce contracts. So a pirate ship needs a way of keeping order, just as a country does.
Economist Peter T. Leeson of West Virginia University has released a working paper arguing that 17th Century pirates actually used constitutional democracy, achieving this before either the USA or England. This is is an important recurring theme in economics: how self-interested individuals can work together to achieve a common good.
Read More: An-arrgh-chy: The Law and Economics of Pirate Organization (Abstract of the paper on Social Science Research Network)
Peter T. Leeson (2007) An-arrgh-chy: The Law and Economics of Pirate Organization (full paper in PDF format)