On Oct 26, 11:46*am, Pat Flannery wrote:

Privateers? Space pirates?

Well, I think he just meant "private businessmen". Space piracy is
unlikely to be profitable. And things getting so messy in space that
Earth governments actually go to the length of issuing _letters of
marque_ by means of which people could be privateers rather than mere
pirates... not coming any time soon.

I think we can leave such things to Elizabeth Moon's novels about
Kylara Vatta for the time being.

John Savard