song for theme #50B: Left Anarchist

“To Get Justice” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Rough Justice” by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards / The Rolling Stones

In my hippie days I was a dove

Now I’ve turned into a hawk

I still don’t much like violence

But if we need it I’ll raise no squawk

There’s no justice¹ today

Governments you’re in the way

There’s no justice

When the power elite² run the show

I like order, I like fair play

We can have them without the state

Time was I thought we could ignore it

But now I think it’s just too late

There’s no justice today

Governments you’re in the way

There’s no justice

When the power elite run the show

Urban co-ops, rural communes

I thought they’d leave us alone

From their red tape³ we can perhaps escape

But inequality⁴ we can’t condone

There’s no justice today

Big money gives us no say⁵

To get justice

Lets clean the slate and smash the state

Organic farms they’re taking up arms

Legalized pollution trepasses⁶

Global climate change: their end game

Lawsuits? We’ve run out of redresses

There’s no justice today

Big money gives us no say

To get justice

Lets clean the slate and smash the state

To the corruption and pollution

There’s only one solution

To get justice

Lets clean the slate and smash the state⁷

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1— Justice is about implementing what is reasonable, proper, lawful, right, fair, deserved, merited, etc. For left anarchists justice is

      often connected with fairness, a connection with three dimensions: equal treatment, the degree to which exercising freedom is

      to be allowed, and reward for contributing to the common good.

2— The power elite refers to the class of people in positions of power in the corporate state. This latter term is used by leftists,

      who believe that government and large corporations are run by the same people and, being so thoroughly intermeshed, have the

      same ultimate goals.

3—Government regulation

4—This refers to the huge gap in income and wealth between society’s “haves” and “have nots.”

5—Those with money pay to have their opinion broadcast, greatly magnifying their influence in elections.

6—Pesticide spray drifts across property boundaries; power plant pollutants cross international boundaries.

7—End the status quo with a revolution that topples the corporate state (see note 2 above, and note 3 theme #19B)

Comment: The terms anarchist and anarchy are so loaded with emotionally charged negative connotations (serious baggage!) they inspire fear in many people. Those working for change who value this theme might consider latching onto more emotionally positive words—like cooperation. (See comment theme #48.)