Plutocracy and Piracy

G.K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News (January 7, 1928):

Certainly, if I have to choose between plutocracy and piracy, I prefer the pirates; for that sort of crime necessitated some sorts of virtue. The pirate who grew rich on the high seas at least could not be a coward; the pirate who grows rich on the high prices may be that, as well as everything else that is unworthy. Besides, the old pirate was continually pursued by the law; the new pirate is not; he is as likely as not to be in Parliament making the law.

Art Young, Plutocracy