I would find this blog post instructive: https://ameliaandersdotter.eu/2014/05/08/why-mr-wales-dreadfully-wrong-about-internet-party
The comment by Jimmy Wales and reply is also very instructive. Choice quote:
But I’ve actually gone one simpler. A Youtube clip linked in IRC talking about the PPAU described us as “humanists”, and that rung especially true to me: Pirates have faith in people
It’s not even about technology or rent seeking or power structures. These all become the “what”. We’re actually named after the people; As a reaction to the “anti-piracy bureau”. Because “everyone” doesn’t have a name as such, the people representing the people took the moniker “Pirate”.
We care about technology because it can help bring people together, but we’re also wary of its social impact: “Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral”.
We care about freedoms but we’re not Libertarians, because they want to create systems, and we want to create societies. Societies are created by and for people, with people making decisions and people being the beneficiaries. We see regulation as opt-in because seriously why wouldn’t you want to help each other the fuck out?
We care about power structures and accountability but mostly so that we can return that power to the people. Our ideas of direct democracy are rooted around the idea that people can figure it all out somehow.
If you look at every political persuasion out there and their opinion of Pirates, we’re batshit insane, more than the hippies, more than the hard chargers, even more than the nazis, because we put our faith in people. It’s fucking unheard of!