The invisible hook
the hidden economics of pirates
by Peter T. Leeson · first published 2009
8mentions
5recommended by
6HN commenters
2013–2022first – last mentioned
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Applies economic reasoning to real pirate crews, covering how their codes, voting and shared rules worked; readers find it a fun, well-researched read even if they disagree with its libertarian framing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…they are terrible at representing how people behave in the real world. Anyone interested in a more complex and realistic examination of the economics of pirating should consider Peter Leeson's book, The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates. I would also recommend Leeson's Anarchy Unbound: Why Self-Governance Works Better Than You Think for some interesting applications of game theory in more realistic historical…
on “The pirate game” ↗By far the most interesting book I've ever read on piracy was The Invisible Hook, by Peter Leeson. It's an analysis on the economics of piracy. It was so profound in fact that much of it was the inspiration for our business model: https://blog.fountstudio.com/yes-we-have-a-pirate-code-1aa1b...
on “A lot we know about pirates is not true, and a lot of what is true is not known” ↗A fun book I recommend is the 'Invisible Hook' by Leeson. Excellent as a summer book, a Libertarian view on the subject with good info on pirates even if you don't agree with the author's view.
on “A lot we know about pirates is not true, and a lot of what is true is not known” ↗Definitely, I highly recommend Peter Leeson's book on the subject, The Invisible Hook: https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Hook-Hidden-Economics-Pirat...
on “The American Corporation Is in Crisis” ↗Since we're doing book recommendations :) I thought "The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates" [1] was a fun read as well. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Hook-Hidden-Economics-Pirat...
on “A lot of what is known about pirates is not true (2017)” ↗You should read The Invisible Hook. I bet you will have a different opinion by the end of it. You also forgot to put a value on self-determination.
on “The pirate game” ↗The economist Peter Leeson did a whole book around that, called The Invisible Hook[1]. I haven't read it, but the Econtalk podcast with the author[2] was interesting. That said, I don't think this measure will be nearly as successful as the pirates'. I'd rather see the executive body…
on “College considers basing president’s salary off that of cleaning staff” ↗…forerunners of the modern private enterprise and democratic shareholder rights'? What? This is a mountainous unsubstantiated statement you've pulled out of the air. To help SagelyGuru out, the book The Invisible Hook by economist Peter T. Leeson talks about how pirates adopted the system of constitutional democracy more than fifty years before the US and had written contracts detailing how much each member should…
on “Icelandic Pirate Party enters parliament” ↗