Well, if we consider it, pirates are a vital part of the economy.
Without pirates, there's fairly little for Lawfuls to really do, other than shoot other, foreign lawfuls. And one of the problems there is, there's only really Gallia to shoot at. No one else is really at war. Meaning, a lot of cool capitals and other ships are going unused. If there is a dip in profit do to pirates, Lawful factions are usually created to try and stop (Or encourage intereaction with) pirate faction.
The only time this isn't true however, appears to be Liberty, which got too far ahead of that curve and made piracy difficult, leaving a 'too big to fail' blob of Lawful, with only unorganized indies to shoot at, and the occasional borderworlds faction, but even that is rare.