The Problem of Modern Piracy

This blog post has the reason we will see an increase in piracy throughout the world.

We refuse to take effective action against pirates not because of some lack of belief in the state, as Lind maintains, but instead because of excessive humanitarianism and blind legalism. The West has elevated humanitarian concerns to the point where they overrule basic common sense. We can’t hang pirates because most western states don’t even believe in capital punishment. Never mind that hanging pirates has long been a highly effective way of eliminating them. We can’t do it because its just too barbaric for our delicate sensibilities. Where are we going to try them? Surely they need legal representation. What about their “rights”? The idea of just summarily executing people captured in the act of piracy — even though it makes perfect sense and has for a couple thousand years — is just too harsh to contemplate. And even non-Western states, like Russia and China, fear the condemnation of the West.

Bombarding pirate ports is another highly effective traditional counter to piracy, as Lind writes. It reduces the profit of piracy, raises the risks, and turns the inhabitants — who don’t like being blown up or rendered homeless — against the pirates. It demonstrates quite effectively to port dwellers why it isn’t a good idea to allow pirate bases in your neighborhood. Even the most primitive barbaric types tend to get the message after the shells start raining down. But of course we can’t bombard ports. Innocent people might be killed, and we certainly can’t risk that. Instead we have the ridiculous spectacle of warships from multiple countries — a few of which could wipe out Somalian piracy entirely given the will to do so– patrolling and trying to catch pirates, unsure what to do with them when they succeed.

When other parts of the world see first-world nations doing nothing, and others profiting from piracy, we will see piracy start to spread. Modern day piracy is not like a Pirates of the Carribean or Errol Flynn movie. It is kidnapping, rape, torture, extortion, slavery, and murder. It is the first of the barbarians at the gates. Today, most of the world is buying them off. What happens when they gain enough power to start threatening other countries? Are we going to step in then, when it will cost even more lives? Or, will we wait till they are a direct threat to us (at which point, it may be to late)?