Sociologically speaking, there are essentially 3 modes of Law you can follow: Trusts, Commerce, and Piracy.
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Trusts are , as the name implies , agreements built on trust . They are largely unregulated (shape them how you want) , and would be the fallback when there is no real government but you want to create some sort of government.
Unincorporated governments are built on Trusts . They are agreements dealing with big groups , that do not need to adhere to any other outside regulation .
Governments typically arose on land because of the immutable nature of land. It sits there and if you sit there with it you are generally not going anywhere . So Law of Trusts as in behavioral contracts tend to arise in places that are less mutable , like land . This is not foolproof , as pirates could be found along trade routes to capture your bounty if left unguarded .
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Piracy is Law in the fact that Pirates , even though they remain muchly lawless , have a general understanding of how things go in their best interests . The law of piracy is basically the law of nature when it comes to how conflicts or ventures tend to end , given their starting points . Game theory is a part of Pirate law . No Pirate has to follow pirate law , but if you don’t follow Pirate law , you are likely to get beat up by other pirates because you look weak .
For example , if you capture a bunch of flags from other ships and you sew it in your own fringes , it shows others that you were powerful enough to overtake those ships . A flag , in ancient times , was hard to authenticate . You can’t just stitch together a copy in 5 seconds and claim you got it . So if there’s anything that would show a rank for how tough a band of pirates was . . . look at their collection of fringed flags .
Pirates typically arose on water because of the mutable nature of water. It constantly moves and if you sail , you are moving with it . Situations can change rather quickly whether you are in a rather calm sea , a typhoon or iceberg or kraken that will destroy your ship , or a band of pirates . That is why you normally don’t sail without a military .
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Commerce exists because everybody likes to trade . Pirates and law abiders alike . Commerce , like Pirate Law , is more-so employing laws of nature rather than firm agreements . But it is clearly in the best interest of the one controlling the trading post to keep the trades frequent and their fees paid .
Despite commerce not needing to rely on any one single law , there is a set of rules that are typically made at every trading post nomatter where you go . First off , the owner of the trading post makes good with the local nation if there is one . So even if they trade with lawless people, they will be sure to at least make it look like while you’re there you follow the law . And if they’re required to know your identity , they’ll at least make it look like they tried their best and “believed” your forgery if it’s good enough . If they can’t tell how you got the thing you’re trading , well they will usually assume you’re “the holder in due course” as long as you look like it , and if the local laws tell them they’re supposed to check if it’s really yours . . . well they’ll at least try to make it look like they checked that it’s really yours .
The keeper of the trading post really has 3 main rules . . .
*”This place is mine . . . “ – they will do their best to make local laws agree with their domicile of the trading post (their dominion) , but when you trade inside there . . . you sure as hell better recognize who’s in charge . Doesn’t matter how much of a hero or villain they look like , you just agree they’re in charge. Once you leave you can badmouth them all you want.
*”I take a cut . . . “ – they will do their best to make a “cut” agreeable to what traders are willing to do , and what fits the local laws . . . but don’t ever skim their cut . . . if you want you can try to skim from other pirates before it gets to the port or after it leaves the port. The postmaster doesn’t care at that point.
*”Don’t break my shit . . . “ In the end, even if you’re a thief or liar or looter (or rapist and all the other bad stuff) . . . you act like a perfect gentleman while at the trading post. Even if you were a perfect saint all your life outside of the trading post: You cause a ruckus inside, risk damaging goods . . . you are probably the worst scum that can be found on the planet in the eyes of the postmaster.
Commerce is the bridge between Pirate Law and the laws of nations . Typically found on ports and docks . As you would expect , between land and sea . But you would also find them along trading routes where a nice powerful nation is not too far away . . . but a bit of outskirts are still to be given so we can bend the rules if need be.
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These “bodies of law” are not decreed by anyone. They are sociological tendencies. They’re not concrete. It works on the land and oceans , and it probably works a lot that way in space and planets too .
When you notice how *closely* modern regulations seem to follow this , it’s almost spooky.
What does that mean for you?
Does that mean you will now step outside of your door, climb out to your roof, and call out “hear ye hear ye let the townsfolk hear that no pirate is welcome in my domicile to trade or plunder. I am a citizen of the nation, not a popper”
. . .
No. That won’t work . . . actually it might because sometimes looking crazy actually works in your favor.
But . . . recognizing that this is a system , and yes you could say somewhat “universal” on a galactic level , at least in theory , you can do something with that .
The customs of the courts really mimic the customs of pirates , and it’s creepy as hell when you figure out how consistent it is . With what we know about Farsight , piracy is also about necromancy . It’s not just plundering and looting goods. It’s plundering and looting “soles” for slavery , and for stuffing into “corpus” that they warrant as more useful to them , once it can be shaped to do so .
Pirates even make their own coins , with their own brands . Because they know that even if some nations might hate them . . . if they’ve plundered enough communities successfully , it doesn’t matter how moral they seem , at least people fear them . Doing business with a bunch of pirate coins doesn’t make you look like a hero . . . but it doesn’t make you look like someone to screw with either .
Why is commerce so big? Because it’s the only thing that both pirates *and* law abiders tend to follow.
Why should you care? Because not only are these principles something to help you shape your future based on a realistic comprehension of your landscape , but they’ll probably help you better understand how it all works up there too .
Or wait . . . are you thinking . . . outside of earth everything is happy and beautiful because your cosmic brothers and sisters are all benevolent and wise and loving . . .
Right.