Did Pirates Create The Credit Crunch?.
While I don’t accept his premise that corporations are by definition predetory entities (the foundation of his entire argument), Dr. Hayes does draw some interesting parallels between golden age pirates and modern business.
Granted, if Dr. Hayes actually believes this is anything more than interesting banter, and that old time pirate practices truly lined up with modern day corporations and thereby led to today’s credit crunch then I’d suggest that the ‘Dr’ in front of his name doesn’t protect him from being a little bit of an idiot, and that he’s letting the facts – both historical and modern – be skewed by a personal political agenda to create an over-simplified but sexy theory. But that would just be cynical of me.
I smell a personal problem. True, corporations are cutthroats and truly out to make as much money as possible by means of eliminating competition, keelhauling quality and flogging the work force. The only true comparison would be corporations to slick and underhanded merchants of the GAoP. As we all know, pirates would STILL prey on said merchants.
I don’t see where he’s going with this, other then “Look at me, I have a picture of me on a boat”. Yes I said boat, not ship. Does he look like he knows the difference? YAAAAAR! I hate corporations though, so the nerd isn’t all bad. Just bad at analogies and choice of style. =)
The “democracy” of GAOP pirates is certainly not the root of modern democracy or modern capitalism, for that matter. It was, and still is, the underworld. In the modern world of corporations, individuals in power fall prey to corruption, and that what pulls them into the underworld.
I agree with Quartermaster — the whole theory is full of holes, but the good “Dr.” has enough marketing sense to know that people will read his article if he uses the word “pirates” in it.
Bess, you’ve struck gold there…
Pirates are the downtrodden, and might use corruption to achieve power.
Corporations are the upper crust, and might use power to achieve corruption.
Awfully poetic, and undisputed proof that pirates and corporations are exact opposites. Yarrrr!!!
(No, I’m not really saying they’re exact opposites. I’m merely illustrating that depending how you choose your facts and words, you can draw the parallels and contrasts to mean virtually whateverthehell you choose.)
“I’m merely illustrating that depending how you choose your facts and words, you can draw the parallels and contrasts to mean virtually whateverthehell you choose.”
Isn’t that what being a writer is all about? 🙂