tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post783171617661542181..comments2023-11-03T08:36:09.683-05:00Comments on Brooks Wilson's Economics Blog: Pirates (Repost)Brooks M. Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17097849558228531431noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-88103862631323302982012-03-25T13:41:15.891-05:002012-03-25T13:41:15.891-05:00It's hard to know the truth about pirates. Ac...It's hard to know the truth about pirates. Accounts like this giving us the impression that they were good people goes against the very definition of pirating, which is that of taking from others without permission. However, it is hard to judge because noone really knows!matt clearmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16037945155856778855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-76749305385838058832012-03-22T20:46:01.391-05:002012-03-22T20:46:01.391-05:00The article about pirates is very interesting. I h...The article about pirates is very interesting. I had no idea that pirates had been that organized. A good thing about the pirates was that they believed in equal rights among its workers. And that they had democracy like we do. I think that some people have learned from what the pirates did during their time which can be clear that it influenced some of the economists today.MD2012https://www.blogger.com/profile/09931482531331716255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-36443466110727879962012-03-22T20:44:37.669-05:002012-03-22T20:44:37.669-05:00This is a really interesting post. I had no idea ...This is a really interesting post. I had no idea that pirates ran things that way. It's amazing to think that there was kind of already a system in place that ran like our government before our government was created.John Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04397138559995254701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-86950229771103891392011-09-03T14:04:35.017-05:002011-09-03T14:04:35.017-05:00Ester Anderson said......
WOW!!! Tons of info.I pr...Ester Anderson said......<br />WOW!!! Tons of info.I pretty shocked at how similar pirates and politics are so much alike.The book refers to principle 4 "People respond to incentives". That proved to be true in the 18oo's with pirates.The merchants gave thier ship captians incentives.The book refers to incentives and how it causes a person to act.In the pirates case it wasn't too good for the crew members.A quate from the book states "people respond to incentives the rest is commentary".This is exactly how our economy is now,Because if incentives arn't given now and days most people won't want to work as hard for there bosses.Incentives can make a big difference , the only thing is that it isn't always for the best.Like the pirates were able to make the crew members pay or punish them,so can people today.It's a shame though because some people take advantage of the power that comes with this likie a promotion.Who would of thought pirates started this.Go figure you learn something new everyday.:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-70389113578637450042011-03-21T18:56:04.853-05:002011-03-21T18:56:04.853-05:00Fascinating. That's the only word I could thin...Fascinating. That's the only word I could think of to describe this article. I do find it somewhat interesting when the article compares the delegation of authorities on a pirate ship to the separation of powers in a democracy. Seems our government has taken lessons from pirates and is run more like a pillaging gang, than a freedom defending body. We need to make most of our "leaders" walk the plank!!Carl Schulznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-17719583001778223122011-03-20T21:00:20.446-05:002011-03-20T21:00:20.446-05:00This is the first time I've come across any un...This is the first time I've come across any un-biased info on piracy like this.. and I find it absolutely hilarious that pirates got it right, when sea captians couldn't. Its a trend you can see now in other less than appealing sub-societies, such as gangs and other bands of criminals... they are sustaining and successful because of the distribution of power.... While there is always a leader, it is truely democratically chosen, and works for the good of the group instead of selfishly, to maintain leadership... Seems something goes wrong when we try the same system lawfully as a nation....perhaps if the repercussions were the same as in a gang or pirate ship, there would be better results...Missy Hardemannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-31367022432585138352011-03-04T16:47:00.622-06:002011-03-04T16:47:00.622-06:00One could argue the pirate concept also applies to...One could argue the pirate concept also applies to publically owned corporations. Shareholders choose directors to oversee the corporation. The directors appoint a CEO and a management team to run the day to day operations. If management is successful shareholders are rewarded by an appreciated stock price and or dividends being paid. If management is not successful, shareholders could remove board members and replace them with new board members who would be willing to change management.<br /><br />Ken HaltomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-25316847088354020092011-02-16T22:04:28.479-06:002011-02-16T22:04:28.479-06:00It's interesting to me to see the type of poli...It's interesting to me to see the type of politics that pirates used. In a way you can almost compare this to gangs or mafia groups as well. There is always a type of organization or a level of authority that can be compared to any type of formal government. Although pirates have such a bad reputation, maybe we really could have learned something from them. And perhaps although themselves were greedy, they also helped spread some wealth around.Andi Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-90129312082660103142010-04-27T09:18:19.806-05:002010-04-27T09:18:19.806-05:00Slade Rodriguez
this is great, to think that pirat...Slade Rodriguez<br />this is great, to think that pirates believed in equal rights. Also on how they elected their captains and other high ranking officials. So what if they had taken advantage of the weak and greedy people back then. So in a way you can say that pirates were some what the robin hoods of the seas. Except they did not give it to the poor they gave it equally among themselves. So in their own way pirates are like little companies each wanting to put their competition out of business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-72012051999503042112010-03-16T21:15:28.645-05:002010-03-16T21:15:28.645-05:00This was an interseting read Dr. Wilson! Enjoyed i...This was an interseting read Dr. Wilson! Enjoyed it! Didn't realize that pirates were so oraganized! I never knew even this much about them and how they came to be...i just thought they were theives.....i just might have to read "The Invisible Hook" too!<br />Thanks for posting this blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-38584369434586699942010-03-16T21:00:18.671-05:002010-03-16T21:00:18.671-05:00Interesting. This article really opens your eyes a...Interesting. This article really opens your eyes about pirates. Who ever thought that these scary, bad guys in all the Disney and other movies were so smart? They may have a bad reasoning behind their actions, but their action is their goal. In order to achieve the goal they know that they need to work together, and achieve it. By working together it shows us that they worked as a small business, or corporation. Organized they achieved their goal. Maybe these pirates could open the eyes of some of our local businesses and/or corporations.Rina Patelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-36603963427684834592009-11-18T11:02:20.487-06:002009-11-18T11:02:20.487-06:00I had no idea that pirates were so organized. Gro...I had no idea that pirates were so organized. Growing up and watching movies pirates are always portrayed as the bad guy, which is not always the case. Yes there are good pirates and bad pirates, as there are good and bad forms of government.Erin Wilbanksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-46946197732410726942009-11-10T17:25:24.802-06:002009-11-10T17:25:24.802-06:00It amazing how the pirates all overcame such simpl...It amazing how the pirates all overcame such simple problems that plagued the merchants of their time by uniting under the common goal of gaining more money. How they took away racism, social divisons, and even elected their leaders all because they recognized the barriers that stopped them from being the most productive.Hunter Tunmirenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-56731637719400723682009-11-08T15:10:46.769-06:002009-11-08T15:10:46.769-06:00people learn from observing other people. pirates ...people learn from observing other people. pirates are people. therefore we can learn from them, just as they can learn from us, which is why we're similar.Tammy mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-4722255357245084742009-11-04T19:35:32.541-06:002009-11-04T19:35:32.541-06:00The pirates show organized way of life. However di...The pirates show organized way of life. However different sets of pirates conduct themselves and their rules differently. Just like there are of different sets of government styles. they show more of a style as a dictator today would. They even regulate their own capita. If they are short on revenue, they do something to change thatKolby Kilgonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-5180020771916791612009-11-03T22:42:20.397-06:002009-11-03T22:42:20.397-06:00Pirates have a whole system. They aren't just...Pirates have a whole system. They aren't just random men at sea trying to usurp the biggest ships and kill everyone else. They have a routine. They assemble a crew based on written agreements and oral oaths to stay loyal, have a plan of attack, take over the ship successfully, then decide who owns it. They have a government of their own, based on authority, ability, and intelligence, not on race. They are a whole new society, not just "bad guys". Often times, these men are more organized than the nation's government. I agree, it is interesting. I agree with Laura. We can learn teamwork from this.Michelle Toupsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-5930119813664418492009-10-28T20:51:42.104-05:002009-10-28T20:51:42.104-05:00Davenport,
I to thought this article was very int...Davenport,<br /><br />I to thought this article was very interesting. It is kind of funny that it seems like we have kind of adopted the formalities that the pirates used to control and order to their organization. It is true that pirates believed in honor. My children love to learn about pirates and they understand a lot more than I do about the organization of pirates. I thought this was very interesting something to talk with my kids about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-80247424339012073892009-10-21T21:28:49.554-05:002009-10-21T21:28:49.554-05:00Pirates are merely portrayed as these vicious thug...Pirates are merely portrayed as these vicious thugs because it amusing to children to see a dirty man with an eyepatch, missing teeth, and a wooden leg; and so this is what is shown. In the eyes of the movie producers, the young kids watching these movies don't care so much for the societal mechanisms behind these plunderers so much as their strange lingo and ideals.Roberson.Ryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-68389073373108682592009-10-20T10:05:37.100-05:002009-10-20T10:05:37.100-05:00It is interesting to see that the injustices that ...It is interesting to see that the injustices that pirates do against the people and ships that they steal from do not extend beyond their prey and create problems amongst themselves. I have always believed that bad judgment calls that come along with criminal activity would translate into bad judgment in the way that a criminal organization is run. Surprisingly this is not the case. The way that pirates conduct criminal conduct is surprisingly similar to the way that our government is run today. This makes you question how a criminal organization solved fundamental problems within their organization long before the American government was able to do so.Matt Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-77562747225071206812009-10-19T18:37:28.466-05:002009-10-19T18:37:28.466-05:00It's amazing how even the bad guys,such as pir...It's amazing how even the bad guys,such as pirates, are able to be so organized. This article comes to prove that every organization runs like a country/government. We have our leader, laws/rules, and a common goal.Dana Neepernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824345661289105799.post-62337374903156891792009-10-19T14:12:39.886-05:002009-10-19T14:12:39.886-05:00This article is very interesting. I had no idea th...This article is very interesting. I had no idea that pirates where that organized. It seems like they ran their ships like a corporation runs its business. Apparently there was honor among thieves and they worked toward a common goal. We could all take a lesson from that side of it.Laura Colenoreply@blogger.com