song for theme #49B: Socialism

“A Socialist Economy (The Fight Continues)” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Happy Christmas (The War is Over)” by John Lennon / John Lennon & Yoko Ono  

What is socialism?

Jack London did ask¹

A brotherhood of man

Getting there’s our task

Capitalist engines

We’ll take over and run

For people not profits

With our votes not guns

A socialist economy

Toward this let’s steer

With full employment

Not losing job fear

I’m a socialist

Albert Einstein said²

People not predators

Keep that in your head

Do away with profits

Limit competition

We need stability

Not depression 

A socialist economy

Toward this let’s steer

With full employment

Not losing job fear

What is socialism?

Asked our comrade Che³

Ending exploitation

Making oppressors pay

We fight to end misery

And alienation

To help people achieve

Their liberation

A socialist economy

Toward this let’s steer

With full employment

Not losing job fear

The fight continues

Won’t you join us?

The fight continues…Yeah! 

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—American writer Jack London (1876-1916) provided a book length answer to this question with his 1908 novel The Iron Heel. 

      Its plot involves centuries of domination of monopoly capitalists/robber barons eventually overthrown in a socialist revolution.

      Many who read London’s Call of the Wild and White Fang—which seemingly celebrate survival of the fittest and rugged

      individualism—are surprised to learn of his abandoning individualism and embracing socialism. Through life experience he

      came to strongly identify with poor people and their struggles to make a decent living.  

2—Albert Einstein (1879-1955), the great physicist and Time magazine’s “Man of the Century,” embraced socialism.  His views

      are summarized in his 1949 essay “Why Socialism?”

3—Che Guevara (1928-1967) was an Argentina born revolutionary who became a leader of the Cuban communist revolution and

      sought to export it elsewhere.  His conversion to believing the status quo was rotten and revolutionary change was needed can

      be traced to his travels as a medical student, through South America and seeing widespread poverty, misery and disease.

Comment: This theme represents a much different way of organizing society / economic activity—an alter-native to themes #19A/ #19B. Based on grim realities of how the Soviet Union operated, many argue that, besides making everyone poor, such a system would put those (like libertarians, theme #50A) who value individual freedom, liberty, private property, etc. in a psychological hell. Others, with a brighter view of human nature, argue the Soviet system was an aberration and socialism is a viable alternative to capitalism.