6 / Everybody Knows

 Everybody knows (live in London, 2008)

:(COHEN, LEONARD / ROBINSON, SHARON)

Everybody knows the dice are loaded 
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed 
Everybody knows the war is over 
Everybody knows the good guys lost 
Everybody knows the fight was fixed 
The poor stay poor, rich get rich 
That's how it goes, everybody knows 

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking 
Everybody knows that the captain lied 
Everybody have got this broken feeling 
Like their father or their dog just died 
Everybody talking to their pockets 
Everybody want a box of chocolates 
And a long stem rose, everybody knows 

Everybody knows you love me baby 
Everybody knows that you really do 
And everybody knows that you've been faithful 
Give or take a night or two 
Everybody knows that you've been discreet 
But there were so many people you just had to meet 
Without your clothes, everybody knows 

Everybody knows, everybody knows 
That's how it goes, everybody knows 
Everybody knows, everybody knows 
That's how it goes, everybody knows 

Everybody knows that it's now or never 
Everybody knows that it's me or you 
Everybody knows that you live forever 
When you have done a line or two 
Everybody knows the deal is rotten 
Old Black Joe still pickin' cotton 
For your ribbons and bows, everybody knows 

Everybody knows that the Plague is coming 
Everybody knows that it's moving fast 
Everybody knows that your naked man and woman 
Are just a shining artifact of the past 
Everybody knows the scene is dead 
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed 
That will disclose what everybody knows 

Everybody knows you're in trouble 
Everybody knows what you've been through 
>From the bloody cross on top of Calvary 
To the beach of Malibu 
Everybody knows it's coming apart 
Take one last look at this Mighty Heart 
Before it blows and everybody knows 

5 / Money...Money

"Money" - Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey

Money makes the world go around
...the world go around
...the world go around.
Money makes the world go around
It makes the world go 'round.

A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound
...a buck or a pound.
Is all that makes the world go around
That clinking, clanking sound...
Can make the world go 'round

Money money money money
Money money money money
Money money money...

If you happen to rich
And you feel like a night's entertainment
You can pay for a gay escapade.
If you happen to be rich and alone
And you need a companion 
You can ring (ting-a-ling) for the maid.
If you happen to be rich
And you find you are left by your lover,
And you moan and you groan quite a lot
You can take it on the chin,
Call a cab and begin to recover
On your 14-karat yacht! WHAT!?

When you haven't any coal in the stove
And you freeze in the winter
And you curse to the wind at your fate.
When you haven't any shoes on your feet,
Your coat's thin as paper, 
And you look 30 pounds underweight
When you go to get a word of advice 
From the fat little pastor,
He will tell you to love evermore.
But when hunger comes to rap,
rat-a-tat rat-a-tat at the window
*knock knock* (at the window)
Who's there? (hunger) oh, hunger!!
See how love flies out the door...

For, money makes the world go around
...the world go around
...the world go around.
Money makes the world go 'round
The clinking, clanking sound of...
Money money money money 
Money money money money... 
Get a little, get a little
Money money money money...
Mark, a yen, a buck or a pound,

4 / PROTESTS ALL OVER THE WORLD (Global Issues)

The globalization of capitalism and his "no rules" financial working has led us to the present crisis. In this context, many people seem to awake of the consumist dream. A global movement is spreading step by step. Despite the fact that protests have different purposes in each place, the movement has the same leitmotiv:

“This movement is not guided, it is clearly born as a reaction to injustice and corruption around the world, and therefore it is destined to change the underlying values of the system, not only the rules of it. It is a global movement for true democracy and better human conditions, … reflects a collective idea, a movement without borders or leaders.” (15O website)

Now, the movement begins to give fruits. Many of books, articles and websites has started to explain alternative economical politics and ways of democracy regeneration. At least, it means a revitalization of critic thought, what is absolutely necessary to act in some way.

3/ FROM THAT DUST, THIS MUD

Economic power and political and social power have been riding together all along History. Dominant classes in each age have controlled society. So, ancient monarchs kept power aboveboard, legitimized through divine will. When capitalist system started to be mature, burgesses made their own revolutions in order to take off the political power (they had already got economical power enough) from aristocracy´s hands. Capitalist class has no divine legitimization option, so that a complex ideology was developed: the Enlightenment.

In general, it is defined as “an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state”. But, in fact, Enlightenment principles were used to build and legitimize the new capitalist order.

The age of reason proclaimed equality and freedom for all the human beings. It developed citizenship concept as new way to consider people of every social level. In this way, everyone would have the same rights and duties. It was defined a new state based on reason power, in other words, based on Law. To sum up, the democratic order was being built, or if you want, the constitutional state.

It seems that this new order was going to develop some kind of a middle class, worker class or, in the best dreams, interclass power, but reality was far from that. As everybody knows,  building theories is very different from building things. The fact is that in 19^th century, after many comings and goings, things were already very clear: aristocracy and capitalist class had come to an agreement. Obviously, both them had the same (or very close) economic interests. At last, democratic order and citizenship principles were tools to make another unequal, unfair and predatory order. Aristocracy accepted the loss of political power as the lesser harm and they saved the ship.

Apparently, new order was built, as John Locke had suggested, based on separation of powers, individual rights and property respect. Think just a second about what separation of powers really means.  In theory, “the state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary.”  In fact, legislature and executive represented only a range of people, which was the people that control the economy. The thing is that, at last, the new order is very close to the ancient order. Who did control the political power? Those who controlled the economical power.

And finally, we have arrived to 20^th century. During the First World War, Russia became the USSR. The Marxist parties and trade unions, which were working in Europe and in the USA felt his moment was near. A new order (again) was possible.  Even more, they could count with the help of soviet friends who were eager to export their revolution. This time power should belong to workers, following Marx advice: take the economy, and then the world will be changed (to be polite with Marx, take means of production and relations of production will be changed).

Capitalist class had to admit the participation of reds in political game with democratic fair play in order to avoid revolutionary temptations. Again, dominant class accepted the loss of political power as the lesser harm and they saved the ship. We have to understand this new state of things as a sort of reform of capitalist order which began to make considerable changes in society and political practice: the so called welfare state. A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.” In other words, school and health services free, social security, retirement pensions and all those nice things we enjoy for the moment. Europe is the paradigm of this model where it seems to be really separate, at least in a portion, economical power from political power, it  does seem to be.

Nowadays, capitalism has suffered another big change. This time, the revolution doesn´t come from social tensions. This time, the own development of the system, plus a great technical invent, the IT, has produced, as a result, the current global capitalism. Furthermore, meanwhile it was being cooking, another important fact has happened. In 1989 Berlin wall fell down and it swept the entire soviet system. Capitalism has no opponent and it become the only economy order in the whole world - There is nothing to be afraid -  said Mr. Fortune.

Well, capitalism rides around the world with no rules or legal control. Financial deals and business play their game in the global monopoly with no restrictions. And, what is more important, a few enterprises control the big piece of the cake of global economy. This is the key to understand the present crisis. This unequal, unfair and predatory order is controlled by financial architects who are interested in making money only.

In this context, we have to conclude that dominant class never lost political power. They only handed over a little in order to avoid a revolutionary threat. Welfare state, could be an illusion, after all. And the crisis is used as a big excuse to destroy it. Perhaps now this Welfare state could be the threat, or perhaps not. In this last case, I am  paranoid and this is another conspiracy theory.