History shows that when a powerful empire sets sail overseas its
spokespeople often depict the undertaking as an effort to create order
and bring peace. When a pirate ship ventures into the open seas, by
contrast, the empire portrays the endeavor as a crime against humanity.
The difference is not so much what emperors and pirates do—both pillage
and plunder, albeit to vastly different degrees. What matters most is
which of the two is in a position to effectively define right and wrong.