Imagine
Libertarians have a lot of agreement with the hippie ethos. Personal autonomy is big with both. But they break when it comes to property rights. It's one thing to be opposed to materialism, but hippies don't even like the idea of possessions. Everything should be shared. Which sounds great, until you realize that means anything you have can be taken away. And that soon nobody will have much.
I was thinking about that while listening to the 1971 hit, "I'd Love To Change The World," by Ten Years After. In particular, the couplet "Tax the rich, feed the poor /Till there are no rich no more." Come again? Certainly it should be "Tax the rich, feed the poor/ Till there are no poor no more." But no, apparently it's more important no one be rich than everyone have enough. Does this give us insight into what animates the hippie mind? I'll leave it up to you.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:04 AM
4 Comments:
I think you're offbase on this one, LAGuy. I have always assumed these lyrics reflected impatience and irony about the "hippie ethic." The words you quote: "Tax the rich, feed the poor, 'til there are no rich no more," protest against a naive socialism. Other lyrics that reinforce this interpretation: "I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do, so I'll leave it up to you." That's reminiscent of "Revolution" by the Beatles: "You say you want a revolution, well, you know, we're all doing what we can." The tax line above also reminds me of "Taxman" by the Beatles -- complaining about being taxed: "Here's one for you, nineteen for me . . . 'cause I'm the Taxman." Also, this is not liberal: "Everywhere is freaks and hairies, dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity?" They don't seem very happy about the population breeding either.
Admittedly, this song is a bit more ambiguous and less pointed than "Revolution" or "Taxman," but I think they're agreeing with your libertarian outlook (which rock stars are wont to do, at least after they get rich.)
By "hippie" I think you mean "boomer" -The worstest generation
By "hippie" I think you mean "boomer" -The worstest generation
I have noted the odd opening lines. There might be some ambiguity here, but it's hard to believe they're mocking the idea of taxing the rich and feeding the poor. (If they are, I think most people have misinterpreted it.)
In the late 60s, revolutionaries always wanted to enlist rock bands in their cause, and you get the feeling the Beatles in "Revolution" and the Stones in "Street Fighting Man" are saying "leave me alone, what do you want me to do." (Though you had some like the MC5 who knew where they stood.) But they also wanted to keep street cred, and certainly Lennon, easily taken with quick enthusiasms (the Stones were more conservative when you come down to it) would even considering saying "count me in" when it comes to violence, and would certainly go on to record more revolutionary stuff in his early solo career, though generally pro-peace.
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