Democratic Socialists

"In the formulas of 'personnel experts', men and women are to be shaped into the 'well rounded, acceptable, effective personality.' Just like small proprietors, they cannot higgle over prices, which are fixed, or 'judge the market' and accordingly buy wisely."

"Kindness and friendliness become aspects of personalized service or of public relations of big firms, rationalized to further the sale of something. With anonymous insincerity, the Successful Person thus makes an instrument of his own appearance and personality."

"In a society of employees dominated by the marketing mentality, it is inevitable that a personality market should arise. For in the great shift from manual skills to the art of 'handling', selling and servicing people, personal or even intimate traits of employees are drawn into the sphere of exchange and become commodities in the labor market."

"Competition has been curtailed by larger corporations; it has been sabotaged by groups of smaller entrepreneurs acting collectively. Both groups have made clear the locus of liberalism's rhetoric of small business and family farm.The character and ideology of the small entrepreneur and the facts of the market are selling the idea of competition short. These liberal heroes, the small businessmen and the farmer, do not want to develop their characters by free and open competition; they do not believe in competition, and they have been doing their best to get away from it.When the small businessmen are asked whether they think free competition is…a good thing, they answer…, 'Yes, of course—what do you mean?' … Finally: 'How about here in this town in furniture?'—or groceries, or whatever the man's line is. Their answers are of two sorts: 'Yes, if it's fair competition,' which turns out to mean: 'if it doesn't make me compete.' … The small businessman, as well as the farmer, wants to become big, not directly by eating up others like himself in competition, but by the indirect ways means practiced by his own particular heroes—those already big. In the dream life of the small entrepreneur, the sure fix is replacing the open market.But if small men wish to close their ranks, why do they continue to talk…about free competition? The answer is that the political function of free competition is what really matters now…[f]or, if there is free competition and a constant coming and going of enterprises, the one who remains established is 'the better man' and 'deserves to be where he is.' But if instead of such competition, there is a rigid line between successful entrepreneurs and the employee community, the man on top may be 'coasting on what his father did,' and not really be worthy of his hard-won position. Nobody talks more of free enterprise and competition and of the best man winning than the man who inherited his father's store or farm. …… In Congress small-business committees clamored for legislation to save the weak backbone of the national economy. Their legislative efforts have been directed against their more efficient competitors. First they tried to kill off the low-priced chain stores by taxation; then they tried to eliminate the alleged buying advantages of mass distributor; finally they tried to freeze the profits of all distributors in order to protect their own profits from those who could and were selling goods cheaper to the consumer.The independent retailer…has been pushing to maintain a given margin under the guise of 'fair competition' and 'fair-trade' laws. He now regularly demands that the number of outlets controlled by chain stores be drastically limited and that production be divorced from distribution. This would, of course, kill the low prices charged consumers by the A&P, which makes very small retail profits, selling almost at cost, and whose real profits come from the manufacturing and packaging.... Under the threat of 'ruinous competition,' laws are on the books of many states and cities legalizing the ruin of competition."

"[A]s a proportion of the labor force, fewer individuals manipulate things, more handle people and symbols."

"In the United States… a handful of corporations centralize decisions and responsibilities that are relevant for military and political as well as economic developments of global significance. For nowadays the military and the political cannot be separated from economic considerations of power. We now live not in an economic order or a political order, but in a political economy that is closely linked with military institutions and decisions. This is obvious in the repeated "oil crisis" in the Middle East, or in the relevance of Southeast Asia and African resources for the Western powers…"

"Those in authority within institutions and social structures attempt to justify their rule by linking it, as if it were a necessary consequence, with moral symbols, sacred emblems, or legal formulae which are widely believed and deeply internalized. These central conceptions may refer to a god or gods, the 'votes of the majority,' the 'will of the people,' the 'aristocracy of talents or wealth,' to the 'divine right of kings' or to the alleged extraordinary endowment of the person of the ruler himself."

"If we accept the Greek's definition of the idiot as an altogether private man, then we must conclude that many American citizens are now idiots. And I should not be surprised, although I don't know, if there were some such idiots even in Germany."

"The two greatest blinders of the intellectual who today might fight against the main drift are new and fascinating career chances, which often involve opportunities to practice his skill rather freely, and the ideology of liberalism, which tends to expropriate his chance to think straight. The two go together, for the liberal ideology, as now used by intellectuals, acts as a device whereby he can take advantage of the new career chances but retain the illusion that his soul remains his own."

"To have peace and not war, the drift toward a war economy, as facilitated by the moves and the demands of the sophisticated conservatives, must be stopped; to have peace without slump, the tactics and policies of the practical right must be overcome. The political and economic power of both must be broken. The power of these giants of main drift is both economically and politically anchored; both unions and an independent labor party are needed to struggle effective."

"As an institutional fact, the cultural apparatus assumes many forms, but everywhere today it tends to be part of some national establishment. This term, “establishment,” is of course your (a British) term. The ambiguity with which you use it is at once too lovely and too useful for a mere sociologist to avoid stealing it. I now serve notice that I do intend to steal it, although I promise that I shall try not to make of it a Concept. In general, the term points to the overlap of culture and authority. This overlap may involve the ideological use of cultural products and of cultural workmen for the legitimation of power, and the justification of decisions and policies. It may involve the bureaucratic use of culture by the personnel of authoritative institutions. But the essential feature of any establishment is a traffic between culture and authority, a tacit co-operation of cultural workmen and authorities of a ruling institution. This means of exchange between them includes money, career, privilege; but, above all, it includes prestige. A zone of at least semiofficial prestige which is at once of culture and of authority is the zone of any establishment."

"One good song with a message can bring a point more deeply to more people than a thousand rallies."

"He was kind of forbidden fruit in a way. Everybody thinks of the '60s as being nothing but radicals and hippies and crazy people, but when you were going to school, people discouraged you from listening to people like Phil Ochs or Bob Dylan, or reading Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg... He was seen as this of radical which is really kind of funny. When you look back, his message was so humanistic, how could it possibly have seemed so radical? He was singing for equality and freedom and the end of war."

"Phil believed strongly that one could change events, or change people's perception, through a well-crafted song."

"That was really Phil's strong point. The big rally. He was a topical singer. He sang a lot of songs about the news of the day. When he performed in that kind of venue, he was at his absolute best."

"We got our heads bashed in Chicago; we saw students shot to death at Kent State; we had people stabbed to death at the Rolling Stones' Altamont concert — what do we have to believe in anymore? Unfortunately, for Phil Ochs, he couldn't give an answer. He lost his faith."

"I just can't keep up with Phil. And he's getting better and better and better."

"Unlike some other protesters, his attacks aren't safe and generalised. He chooses his targets well, and he hits them hard."

"God isn't dead — he's just missing in action."

"America is two Mack trucks colliding on a superhighway because all the drivers are on amphetamines."

"And if there's any hope for America, it lies in a revolution, and if there's any hope for a revolution in America, it lies in getting Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara."

"A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit."

"Leaving America is like losing twenty pounds and finding a new girlfriend."

"The final story, the final chapter of Western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles."

"When they show the destruction of society on color TV, I want to be able to look out over Los Angeles and make sure they get it right."

"Time takes her toll and the memory fades but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made. Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear As they wait for a new thrill parade."

"They say they can't believe it, it's a sacrilegious shame Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game? But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small. Tell me every detail, I've got to know it all, And do you have a picture of the pain?"

"Images of innocence charge him go on But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn To a nightmare of knowledge he opens up the gate And a blinding revelation is laid upon his plate That beneath the greatest love is a hurricane of hate And God help the critic of the dawn."

"So dance dance dance Teach us to be true Come dance dance dance 'Cause we love you"

"In the green fields a turnin', a baby is born His cries crease the wind and mingle with the morn An assault upon the order, the changing of the guard Chosen for a challenge that is hopelessly hard And the only single sound is the sighing of the stars But to the silence and distance they are sworn."

"Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer, But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why But demonstrations are a drag, besides we're much too high."

"Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody Outside of a small circle of friends."

"The painter paints his brushes black Through the canvas runs a crack Portrait of the pain never answers back."

"I'm gonna give all I've got to give Cross my heart, and I hope to live."

"I watched my life fade-away in a flash A quarter of a century dash through closets full of candles with never a room For rapture through a kingdom had been captured. And so I turn away from my drizzling furniture and pass old ladies Sniffling by movie stars' tombs, yes I must be home again soon. To face the unspoken unguarded thoughts of habitual hearts A vanguard of electricians a village full of tarts Who say you must protest you must protest It is your diamond duty… Ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty And the bleeding seer crawled from the ruins of the empire And stood bleeding, bleeding on the border He said, passion has led to chaos and now chaos will lead to order. Oh I have been away for a while and I hope to be back again soon."

"In the courtroom, watch the balance of the scales If the price is right, there's time for more appeals The strings are pulled, the switch is stayed The finest lawyers fees are paid And a rich man never died upon the chair"

"Oh you tell me that there's danger to the land you call your own And you watch them build the war machine right beside your home And you tell me that you're ready to go marchin' to the war I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?"

"So do your duty, boys, and join with pride Serve your country in her suicide Find the flags so you can wave goodbye But just before the end even treason might be worth a try This country is too young to die I declare the war is over It's over, it's over."

"And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here."

"Dump the reds in a pile, boys Dump the reds in a pile You'd better wipe off that smile, boys Better wipe off that smile We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck We'll find you a leader that you can't elect Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck 'Cause we're the cops of the world, boys We're the cops of the world."

"And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders but the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers and a world of hunger in vengeance will always remember So please be reassured, we seek no wider war, we seek no wider war."

"Well I've seen travel in many ways I've traveled in cars and old subways But in Birmingham some people chose To fly down the street from a fire hose. Doin' some hard travelin'...from hydrants of plenty."

"Call it peace or call it treason, Call it love or call it reason, But I ain't marching anymore!"

"It's always the old to lead us to the war It's always the young to fall Now look at all we've won with the sabre and the gun Tell me is it worth it all."

"Here is a land full of power and glory Beauty that words cannot recall Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom Her glory shall rest on us all."

"Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of the poor Only as free as a padlocked prison door Only as strong as our love for this land Only as tall as we stand!"

"Now they sing out his praises on every distant shore But so few remember what he was fightin' for Oh why sing the songs and forget about the aim? He wrote them for a reason, why not sing them for the same?"

"Show me a country where the bombs had to fall Show me the ruins of buildings so tall And I'll show you a young land With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I You or I."

"Show me an alley, show me a train Show me a hobo who sleeps out in the rain And I'll show you a young man With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I"

"Show me a prison, show me a jail Show me a pris'ner whose face has grown pale And I'll show you a young man With many reasons why There but for fortune, go you or I."