Murder and armed robbery are morally wrong, period.

So one cannot commend or admire the Somali pirates who hijack passing supertankers and hold them to ransom.

Yet neither can one deny the enterprise of people who, living in extreme poverty but watching the wealth of the world float past their coast, decide not to sit waiting for help that never comes.

Neither can one deny that they run a sharp operation. Weapons and speedboats are cheap. They also hold their own lives cheap, so they have little to lose but much to gain. The potential rewards are enormous and the risk is reduced by the amazing fact that most of the valuable target ships are unarmed. The pirates are also professional in that they usually honour the deal once a ransom is agreed.

Certainly they show more business sense than shipowners who end up paying a seven figure ransom because they fail to spend a few thousand dollars on a gun locker with a couple of automatic rifles.

It is testament to the growing insanity of our legal system that it seems that they are worried about the potential litigation that might result from shooting a pirate!

It seems that murder and armed robbery are wrong morally but not necessarily legally.

Meanwhile, there are two lessons to be learned from the Somali pirates.

The first is that human enterprise is a wonderfully powerful force, unstoppable even in the most adverse circumstances.

The second is that where that force of enterprise cannot find a legal outlet, it will inevitably be directed into illegal activities.

Governments of all types – not just of failed states like Somalia – should bear that in mind before prohibiting or over-regulating honest business.