"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
The Pirates? Code
"Leeson is fascinated by pirates because they flourished outside the state?and, therefore, outside the law. They could not count on higher authorities to insure that people would live up to promises or obey rules....More strikingly, pirate ships were governed by what amounted to simple constitutions that, in greater or lesser detail, laid out the rights and duties of crewmen, rules for the handling of disputes, and incentive and insurance payments to insure that crewmen would act bravely in battle."
- Login to post comments