First of all, here's a link to a very interesting map of pirate attacks around the world. They certainly are clustered around Somalia, but there are some off the Americas as well.
My bigger question, raised when the US military got involved with the latest big act of piracy and hostage taking:
Is this a military matter, where commerce is part of the national interest and should be protected?
Or is it a commercial matter, where insurance against piracy is simply the cost of doing business? This seems to be the attitude, by and large, up to this point.
Here's my opinion: dealing with piracy should be a private, commercial matter. The consumers of the goods being shipped will pay the additional costs for the safety of transport. If the matter is taken over by the military then you and I, the taxpayers, are subsidizing the businesses that choose to use this shipping lane. Why should I do that? If I'm a purchaser of those goods, I'll make the decision whether or not I'm still going to purchase at a higher price and then the market sends a clear signal on whether that shipping lane should be used.
I haven't seen any media discussion of this. Has anyone?
I haven't seen any media discussion either, but then I've been rather overwhelmed with school to pay close attention.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I think on the contrary that it's a state/military matter. I think of piracy like a protection racket - pay us this money or we'll burn your store down. We use the criminal justice system to prevent businesses from being shaken down in this way and distorting the market, and so too should we devote more international naval resources to keep the seas safe while the international community tries to figure out what to do about failed Somalia. The naval strength in the region should be strengthened and more convoys provided. Any shipper who didn't want to conform to such a schedule would be welcome to up their insurance and take their chances.
Very good point, Michelle. I agree with Ron that Piracy is more like a law and order problem.
ReplyDeleteMuch like terrorism.
The fact of the matter is there is little employment opportunities for these gun toting Somali youths and piracy is a career option much as selling drugs in the inner city ghettos is the US is for the black youth.
Maybe an international fund to help train these pirates into providing security. Heck, that's what we've been doing in Iraq paying off Sunni militants to stop shooting at us and go after the "really bad guys".