FACULTÉ & RECHERCHE

Critical management authors are constantly searching for alternative models. We could learn from the study of the functioning of pirate communities, for example. It would have been important for the critical authors to have an example of a real pirate city organized under libertarian principles, such as the Republic of Salé (1627–1641/1666). Unfortunately, the study of this case, based on historical sources, shows that it was not an ideal pirate city, but rather a maritime city state, a plutocracy, inserted in national and international trade networks. Even when demythologized, the pirate utopia remains a fascinating part of our collective imaginary and thus could provide us with solutions to the limitations of existing models. One could, however, say that fully assumed fiction would have more impact than this false reality to which is attributed things that did not even exist.