Poetry corner! anything on free market or libertarianism?

[alexakarpov]

One of my all-time favorites is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, "The Imperial Rescript". Touches on gender issues, welfare, taxation, morals... What do you think?

 

http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/imperial_rescript.html

 

Now this is the tale of the Council the German Kaiser decreed,

To ease the strong of their burden, to help the weak in their need,

He sent a word to the peoples, who struggle, and pant, and sweat,

That the straw might be counted fairly and the tally of bricks be set.

 

The Lords of Their Hands assembled; from the East and the West they drew --

Baltimore, Lille, and Essen, Brummagem, Clyde, and Crewe.

And some were black from the furnace, and some were brown from the soil,

And some were blue from the dye-vat; but all were wearied of toil.

 

And the young King said: -- "I have found it, the road to the rest ye seek:

The strong shall wait for the weary, the hale shall halt for the weak:

With the even tramp of an army where no man breaks from the line,

Ye shall march to peace and plenty in the bond of brotherhood -- sign!"

 

The paper lay on the table, the strong heads bowed thereby,

And a wail went up from the peoples: -- "Ay, sign -- give rest, for we die!"

A hand was stretched to the goose-quill, a fist was cramped to scrawl,

When -- the laugh of a blue-eyed maiden ran clear through the Council-hall.

 

And each one heard Her laughing as each one saw Her plain --

Saidie, Mimi, or Olga, Gretchen, or Mary Jane.

And the Spirit of Man that is in Him to the light of the vision woke;

And the men drew back from the paper, as a Yankee delegate spoke: --

 

"There's a girl in Jersey City who works on the telephone;

We're going to hitch our horses and dig for a house of our own,

With gas and water connections, and steam-heat through to the top;

And, W. Hohenzollern, I guess I shall work till I drop."

 

And an English delegate thundered: -- "The weak an' the lame be blowed!

I've a berth in the Sou'-West workshops, a home in the Wandsworth Road;

And till the 'sociation has footed my buryin' bill,

I work for the kids an' the missus. Pull up? I be damned if I will!"

 

And over the German benches the bearded whisper ran: --

"Lager, der girls und der dollars, dey makes or dey breaks a man.

If Schmitt haf collared der dollars, he collars der girl deremit;

But if Schmitt bust in der pizness, we collars der girl from Schmitt."

 

They passed one resolution: -- "Your sub-committee believe

You can lighten the curse of Adam when you've lifted the curse of Eve.

But till we are built like angels -- with hammer and chisel and pen,

We will work for ourself and a woman, for ever and ever, amen."

 

Now this is the tale of the Council the German Kaiser held --

The day that they razored the Grindstone, the day that the Cat was belled,

The day of the Figs from Thistles, the day of the Twisted Sands,

The day that the laugh of a maiden made light of the Lords of Their Hands.

[ribuck]

A haiku from learnliberty.tumblr.com:

 

Liberty calls me

Follow as my conscience leads

Throw off chains that bind.

[alexakarpov]

Thank you; let's keep it going )

 

Another one by Kipling:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_of_the_Copybook_Headings

 

 

(He does use the term "market" in there, but it's pretty obvious that it's not the same market as what we extoll.)

 

 

 

The Gods of the Copybook Headings

 

 

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,

 

I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.

 

Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,

 

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

 

 

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn

 

That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:

 

But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,

 

So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

 

 

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,

 

Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,

 

But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come

 

That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

 

 

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,

 

They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;

 

They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;

 

So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

 

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.

 

They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.

 

But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,

 

 

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

 

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life

 

(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)

 

Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,

 

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

 

 

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,

 

By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;

 

But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,

 

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

 

 

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew

 

And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true

 

That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four

 

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

 

 

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man

 

There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.

 

That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

 

And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

 

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins

 

When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,

 

As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,

 

The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

[alexakarpov]

This song, and this video, are very inspiring, I think -- I'm sure there's a message of liberty, and the video is strongly suggesting it, though it's not easy to translate directly. But hey, that's normal with poetry )

Enjoy: