History with it's teachings, where we least expect.
Piracy was one of the most democratic activities, at the time. All pirate ships had a written code. Most of them did not reach us, since at the capture, for fear of being evidence of piracy leading to the gallows, the codes were destroyed.
One of the codes, written in 1719, still exists today. It was Black Bart's. Article 1 stated that "every man shall have an equal vote in ordinary affairs - he shall have equal right to fresh provisions or spirits at any time they are served and to use them at his pleasure, except if scarcity makes necessary, for the common good, that the restriction be voted on. "
There was, it seems, the usual trinity of greed, adventure and democracy, like in most governance.