Democracy in Strange Places

Pirate ships are not normally held up as good examples of human behavior but Joanna Weiss has a good piece about how pirates participated in the social experiment called "Democracy". That people even at the very fringes of civilization could develop advanced social structures is intriguing. It is strong evidence of the Governance Imperative in action. People who must deal with their fellows as equals figure out ways to govern themselves in an egalitarian manner. Thinking of ways to improve the structure of government is not just some ivory tower dream, no longer the sole territory of the educated wealthy landholder.

Even pirates are concerned with making sure the rules by which they live are fair, regardless whether they are 'right' since they knew they were considered criminals.