Posted by Jock on July 15, 2007 at 22:11:16 from 87.105.81.146 user Jock.
I've just been reading a fascinating double review in the New Yorker of a paper (pdf) by Peter Leeson, an economist at George Mason University, and of “The Republic of Pirates,” a new book by Colin Woodard, about the way power relationships functioned aboard pirate ships in the 17th and 18th centuries.
pirate ships limited the power of captains and guaranteed crew members a say in the ship’s affairs. The surprising thing is that, even with this untraditional power structure, pirates were... among “the most sophisticated and successful criminal organizations in history.”
James Surowiecki, the author of the review is fascinated in the way that power was distributed on board a Pirate vessel.
... pirate ships developed models that in many ways anticipated those of later Western democracies. First, pirates adopted a system of divided and limited power. Captains had total authority during battle, when debate and disagreement were likely to be both inefficient and dangerous. Outside of battle, the quartermaster, not the captain, was in charge—responsible for food rations, discipline, and the allocation of plunder.
the pirate system was also based on an important insight: leaders who are great in a battle or some other crisis are not necessarily great managers, and concentrating power in one pair of hands often leads to bad decision-making...
On can immediately see parallels with the Swallows. On dry land Susan is indisputably in charge of 'housekeeping', but once sailing or waging war, John has the final say. Meanwhile Nancy runs the Amazons in an authoritarian manner that closely mirrors the power relationships of the Royal Navy.
most corporations since the mid-nineteenth century have behaved more like the Royal Navy, with C.E.O.s who have close to unlimited power and employees who have no say in who runs the organization or how it’s administered.
Perhaps the Swallows, with their ability to take individual initiatives and devolved power structure, have something to teach us today?