Ep. 687: Peter Leeson Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio
Michael Covel's Trend Following
00:00
The History of Pirate Adjudication
Pirates weren't unionized. Nevertheless, they managed to come up with an important policy that labor unions often claim credit for and that is workers compensation or social insurance. If any man loses a limb or becomes a cripple of a pirate service, he has to have $800 out of the public stop and for lesser hurts proportionately. So if you lost your right arm in battle, it would be worth a certain number of dollars. The idea behind this system of social insurance that pirates developed was not a result of the fact that pirates were interested in establishing some kind of a welfare state or particularly generous. It was a means of incentivizing pirates to put forth more effort in battle.
Play episode from 55:02
Transcript
