Well old Adam Smith, he gave us this myth
'bout how the market will self-regulate
But élite business schemes would still just be dreams
Without the arms of the State
If you want to know that they mean when they say
"We're gonna open up your markets for our free trade"
Well just ask the ghosts of all those who've been killed
For refusing to bow down before the dollar bill..
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate élite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will.
Cargill, Monsanto, Merck, or Union Carbide, they go by so many names
But for the land and the people destroyed by their greed, the story is always the same
McDonald's requires McDonald Douglass, United Fruit needed US Marines
The freedom of their markets supported by fascist regimes.
The rhetoric is so thick as they tell us we're free
And we've got to see right though their lies
It's not freedom to choose our won destinies,
It's freedom to choose our demise
You can die for their money, you can die by their guns
They'll let you choose your own fate
But if you get in the way of their profits
You can be sure you'll be burnt at the stake.
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate elite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will.
Don't need no great hand comin' down from the sky
Or soldiers in olive drab marchin' on my
To discipline, regulate, liberalize, legislate—we decline
Without you we were just doin' fine
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate elite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will...
'bout how the market will self-regulate
But élite business schemes would still just be dreams
Without the arms of the State
If you want to know that they mean when they say
"We're gonna open up your markets for our free trade"
Well just ask the ghosts of all those who've been killed
For refusing to bow down before the dollar bill..
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate élite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will.
Cargill, Monsanto, Merck, or Union Carbide, they go by so many names
But for the land and the people destroyed by their greed, the story is always the same
McDonald's requires McDonald Douglass, United Fruit needed US Marines
The freedom of their markets supported by fascist regimes.
The rhetoric is so thick as they tell us we're free
And we've got to see right though their lies
It's not freedom to choose our won destinies,
It's freedom to choose our demise
You can die for their money, you can die by their guns
They'll let you choose your own fate
But if you get in the way of their profits
You can be sure you'll be burnt at the stake.
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate elite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will.
Don't need no great hand comin' down from the sky
Or soldiers in olive drab marchin' on my
To discipline, regulate, liberalize, legislate—we decline
Without you we were just doin' fine
The invisible hand of the market
is only one of two
Wielded by the corporate elite
and dressed in red, white, and blue
In one fist an M-16 rifle,
in the other fist a thousand dollar bill
If the right fist doesn't get you,
then the other one… surely will...
inviata da giorgio - 12/10/2009 - 08:48
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Lyrics and music by Ethan Miller
Album: Riot Folk live in PDX
In economics, the "invisible hand", also known as the invisible hand of the market, is the term economists use to describe the self-regulating nature of the marketplace. The invisible hand is a metaphor first coined by the economist Adam Smith in "The Theory of Moral Sentiments". For Smith the invisible hand was created by the conjunction of the forces of self-interest, competition, and supply and demand, which he noted as being capable of allocating resources in society. This is the founding justification for the laissez-faire economic philosophy.
« The old story says we have to depend on big corporations. The new story tells us we can earn a livelihood, gain freedom, and build community through cooperation.
Call it "globalization", or the "free market", or "capitalism". Whatever its name, people across the United States and throughout the world are experiencing the devastating effects of an economy that places profit above all else.
None of this, of course, is news. Many of us have come to believe that the crucial economic decisions affecting our lives are made not by us, but by far-away "experts" and mysterious "market forces." A friend asked me recently, "Since when did the American people decide to send their manufacturing sector south to exploit people in El Salvador or the Dominican Republic?" We didn't, and nobody ever asked.
But what's the alternative? We're taught that there are only two possible economic choices: capitalism—a system in which rich people and corporations have the power, make the decisions, and control our lives; or communism—a system where state bureaucrats have the power, make the decisions, and control our lives. What a choice!
When it comes to real economic alternatives, our imaginations are stuck. Clearly, we need something different, but what would it look like? How do we start to imagine and create other ways of meeting our economic needs? » (Ethan Miller)