Weekly Poem #4

an ode to the finery of capitalism   
                    free trade and democratic freedom

isn’t the capitalist system great
how it spawns so few winners
grand folks they are
with a multitude of losers
who are always to blame
for not being tough enough
for being lazy or getting sick
losers who crack under pressure
it’s much better for the winners
they get to dodge taxes: they have
lots of ways to screw governments
and the public commons while
living to excess, breaking
inconvenient rules or paying
to have them changed favourably
one must not prevent good avarice
from being successful
it produces jobs
somewhere, at minimal wages.

isn’t global capitalism great
national boundaries are disappearing
under the weight of free trade
well, they call it free, but actually
it’s quite expensive if a country resists
being pillaged for its raw materials
or tries to prevent cheap goods
from flooding in: that costs a lot
because somewhere there’s a factory
making stuff with indentured labour
and no safety regulations or unions
so the stuff’s being made
almost for free and sold at profit
that’s how free trade works
the flow of money is guaranteed
but for labour and raw materials
there are rules to protect
the capitalists who make the rules
to protect the trade that makes
them rich capitalists who
can control elected governments.

isn’t democratic freedom great
where you have to be a millionaire
to get elected or have millionaires
who will fund you as long as you’re
cooperative and see the value
in exploitation and minimizing
regulations and controls: the market
knows best, they say, knowing
the market’s a dumb beast
that can be steered with just
the right grease, a handful of fodder
and agreeable politicians
who cite slogans and
do as they are told.

All poems copyright of the author: Daniel Scott