Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Pirate economics

Jonah Goldberg seems to have common sense.
If more pirates were shot, there would be fewer pirates. Unlike, say, jihadist terrorists, pirates are in it for the money. Raise the cost of being a pirate — in denominations of pirate blood — and you’ll lower the supply of pirates. That’s how governments — good and bad — have dealt with piracy for thousands of years.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YThmNGFhNGRlY2ZjYWU0NDlhZGQ0MDg3NzhjNWI1MGU=

2 comments:

  1. I can agree to that on many terms. Although a non-interventionist, I believe our primary goal in international affairs should be to protect ourselves and our assets (in this case, our property, military personal and vessels). I would subscribe to a form of the "Sleeping Dragon" ideology here, staying out of affairs unless someone steps on our tail. In that case, we have an obligation to take decisive action.

    This was just released a few minutes ago from our Secretary of State:

    http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/15/clinton_vs_the_pirates

    It's an interesting situation we're in.

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  2. Pirates represent a threat to private property all over the world.

    Not only should intervention be encouraged to protect American property, but to allow for the safety of foreign property, and as such, encourage free trade between nations.

    ReplyDelete