A series of debates back in 1648 (1)
Outlined the limits of liberty and the purpose of the state
And the decisions they made are with us to this day
Superficials may change but principles remain the same
The first role of government is to guard against equality
'Cause the rich saw democracy as a threat to their property
So the system must be stacked to weigh against the majority
With a thousand dirty tricks to penalise those in poverty
Sometimes it's a budget cut for public education
Other times it's repression of a worker's combination
Whatever the method, the aim is always the same:
Protect the privileged minority and keep the poor in their place
That's why they spend your taxes funding third world fascists
They're just arming their allies in the clash of the classes
And any who spoke out or tried to resist
They used to call them commies, but these days they call them "terrorists"
These "terrorists" could never match the forces of "order"
Trained by the CIA in terror and torture
Turned loose on civilians, trade unionists and farmers
On behalf of United Fruit, down in Guatemala
And it's always the same when there's money to be made
Big business makes a killing in a literal way
I wish I could say this was an isolated case
But the truth is it's happening every single day
From Coke in Colombia to Shell in Nigeria
To Disney in China to Enron in Argentina
Behind each glossy corporate branded identity
Is a brutal and squalid impoverished reality
Starvation level wages and 15 hour days
Intimidations and evictions with a gun to your face
Yeah big business may deliver like the governments say
But answer me this: Who pays?
Outlined the limits of liberty and the purpose of the state
And the decisions they made are with us to this day
Superficials may change but principles remain the same
The first role of government is to guard against equality
'Cause the rich saw democracy as a threat to their property
So the system must be stacked to weigh against the majority
With a thousand dirty tricks to penalise those in poverty
Sometimes it's a budget cut for public education
Other times it's repression of a worker's combination
Whatever the method, the aim is always the same:
Protect the privileged minority and keep the poor in their place
That's why they spend your taxes funding third world fascists
They're just arming their allies in the clash of the classes
And any who spoke out or tried to resist
They used to call them commies, but these days they call them "terrorists"
These "terrorists" could never match the forces of "order"
Trained by the CIA in terror and torture
Turned loose on civilians, trade unionists and farmers
On behalf of United Fruit, down in Guatemala
And it's always the same when there's money to be made
Big business makes a killing in a literal way
I wish I could say this was an isolated case
But the truth is it's happening every single day
From Coke in Colombia to Shell in Nigeria
To Disney in China to Enron in Argentina
Behind each glossy corporate branded identity
Is a brutal and squalid impoverished reality
Starvation level wages and 15 hour days
Intimidations and evictions with a gun to your face
Yeah big business may deliver like the governments say
But answer me this: Who pays?
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(1) The "series of debates" mentioned were in Cromwell's time the Putney Debates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putney_Debates held between the Levellers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levellers and the Grandee factions of the Parliamentary army, towards the end of the English Civil Wars..