February 22 at BFUU in Berkeley
“Moloch” by Allen Ginsburg (with mask)
Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” has a middle section called “Moloch’ that is a criticism of the American capitalist society. Moloch is the name of the Canaanite god - he was a huge statue with holes in him that led to fire pits. Children were sacrificed to Moloch. I have rewritten the poem - instead of talking about Moloch in the third person. I am going to BE MOLOCH, wearing this mask.
I am Moloch! Capitalism, Alienation, Loneliness, Ashcans, Unobtainable Dollars!
I am Moloch, your nightmare! Moloch the loveless! Moloch the incomprehensible prison!
My mind is machinery! I am Moloch, my blood is running money!
My fingers are ten armies! My breast is a cannibal dynamo! My ear is a smoking tomb!
I am Moloch! Capitalism! My eyes are a thousand blind windows! My factories croak in the fog!
My love is endless oil and stone! My soul is electricity and banks! I created the specter of poverty.
I am Moloch. Dow Jones! Robot apartments, skeleton treasuries! Blind Capitals! Demonic Industries! Invincible madhouses! Monstrous Bombs!
You humans broke your backs and hearts lifting Moloch to heaven! All your visions, miracles, ecstasies, illuminations, and epiphanies were destroyed.
You are Crazy inside me now, crazy inside Moloch. Moloch frightens you out of your natural ecstasy.
I am Moloch, Eternal Profit, I carried your screams and suicides down the American river!
I made you jump off the roof, Moloch crushes you on the pavement of Wall Street.
What Are We Worth? (w/ murmuration video)
Hi - this might be the longest call-and response ever created - Its so long it might be more accurately defined as CULT INDOCTRINATION. —— I say regular type, audience says bold type
Hi - we are now going to read what might be the longest call-and response ever created - Its so long it is probably more accurately defined as CULT INDOCTRINATION. You all have a copy - on your chair - I will read the regular type and you read the Bold Face. If you doze off, I will casually but loudly mention your name. Because I believe in Audience Participation By Any Means Necessary - All right let’s start
I want us all to fly like skylarks in their fantastic murmurations
I want us all to swim like sardines in ecstatic swirls
Moving in harmony with each other
Leaderless, Intuitive, Self-organizing, Collective Intelligence
What am I worth? What is my value?
What are we worth? What is our value?
Am I just a dollar sign? is my value the sum of my assets?
Is everyone only a dollar amount? The total of their portfolio?
Am I worthless if I am poor?
Are we a negative if we are in debt?
Is Elon Musk more valuable than the combined population of 80% of the earth?
Is any person more valuable or less valuable than any other person?
The skylarks are all equal in their joyful synchronicity
The sardines are egalitarian in their peaceful cohesion
Why do humans fly against each other? I want to live in a flock of skylarks
I want to be in a sardine tornado
Why is there competition instead of collaboration?
Why must there be leaders, followers, winners, losers, rich and poor?
I want everyone to thrive together
in the sky the earth the ocean
There is an economy that looks just like the lovely coordination of skylarks and sardines
What is that Economy called?
Gift Economy is an option to capitalism - Imagine waking up everyday to give your community exactly what you want to give
I’d be happy to do that I really would
Imagine your community providing you with whatever you needed for FREE
Food? Housing? Health? Education?
Imagine working motivated by compassion, not forced by desperation or lured by greed.
Every day would be like Christmas? Giving gifts and getting gifts?
Yes Yes Yes Imagine a world where “the economy” is just…
people taking care of each other?
Our lives would be governed by empathy.
I’d like to be a very good person.
Gift Economy is generated by service to others.
where can I find this?
Gift economy is far away and everywhere
Be specific give me directions
Gift economy operates in Samoa, Fiji, and the Cook Islands.
Those are very expensive airline tickets.
Gift economy existed in Native American tribes like the Haida, the Salish, the Tlingit.
Are they still alive?
Gratitude was given to individuals who gave the most to others. Hoarding was the worst offense.
Billionaires are hoarders. Wealth must be circulated.
We need to share.
Yes, We need to share.
We need to be active in our communities like the swirling birds and fish
Never colliding with each other, because we’re sensitive
Capitalism says we never have enough.
We gotta buy junk all the time to keep the markets going.
Capitalism turns human beings into sharks
We’re supposed to eat little fish
Capitalism, they tell us, is the law of the jungle
We’re supposed to be crocodiles, gobbling the weak
Community Potlucks are a display of gift economy.
Bring a dish to share with everyone
I want to eat a slice of Marjorie’s pie
I want to eat three of Joanna’s muffins
There are no homeless people in a gift economy
Vacant buildings are given to those who need a home
Gift Economy is everyone being kind to each other
Skylarks fly together in ever-changing cooperation
Sardines swirl in collective unison.
What we do everyday can make change happen
What we do everyday
Can make change happen
What am I worth?
We are worth what we give to others.
Are we just a dollar sign?
We are not just a dollar sign.
Are we worthless if we are poor?
We are valuable when we help people feel empathy. This makes them human.
Is any person more valuable or less valuable than any other person?
No they are not.
I want us all to fly like skylarks in their murmurations
I want us all to swim like sardines in their ecstatic swirls
Moving in harmony with each other
Leaderless, Intuitive, Self-organizing, Collective Intelligence
Socialist Animals (w/ actors holding pictures above)
I am a Prairie Dog. We live in very large colonies that cover 2-3 acres. We spend a lot of time grooming each other and giving each other nose-to-nose "kisses.” We use sophisticated vocals like a high-pitched bark that communicates the species, size, and speed of predators. Our colony members share duties such as guarding, foraging, and maintaining our elaborate underground burrows.
Who wants to be a prairie dog? If you’re claustrophobic and afraid of the dark, it’s not ideal. Prairie dogs also get wiped out by Bubonic Plague. But still, it’s very sociable. If you like dirt
I am an African Wild Dog — We are cooperative, living in carnivorous packs of 30-40. We exhibit shared pup care, and we care for sick, injured, or elderly members. We use efficient, cooperative hunting to chase prey for long distances. We use complex, high-pitched vocalizations like twitters and whines, and specific vocalizations to "vote" on when the pack should begin hunt.
The African Wild Dog is not a Vegan option. You only want it if you’re eager to run dozens of miles to eat raw antelope filled with stress hormones.
I am an Elephant. The leader of my herd is the Matriarch - the oldest female. Elephants like me have tight-knit family groups, lifelong friendships, we communicate with sound, touch, and gesture. We exhibit grieving and compassion, we recognize hundreds of our fellow elephants, and we pass cultural knowledge down through generations. •
… so… Elephants are obviously the Unitarian model. Or the CodePink model. Governed by elder females. Who wants to be in an elephant herd? No men are raising their hands?
I am a Crow. We live in large, loud, extended family communities, for warmth and safety. We are cooperative; juvenile crows help raise new chicks. We perform funeral ceremonies to mourn our dead, we can use tools to obtain food. We work together to "mob" predators. We remember individual human faces for years, holding grudges or showing affection.
Who wants to be a crow? Everyone wants to fly, right? But you have to go to funerals. That’s also quite Unitarian. Raise your hands?
I am a Sea Horse. We are social and very romantic. We form monogamous, long-term bonds that require daily, hour-long greeting rituals, including dancing, changing colors, and intertwining our tails to stay safe and together.
This sounds horrifying to me. Too much togetherness; it’s like my wife’s birthday but it’s everyday. Who wants to be a seahorse? Jeff and Margaret, I think you have to raise your hands.
I am a Bonobo. We are egalitarian, matriarchal, peaceful, and cooperative. Females dominate our society by forming strong alliances with other females, even serving as midwives. We use sexual behavior to manage conflict, reduce tension and maintain bonds. Bonobos exhibit empathy and our youngsters engage in complex play.
Are you thinking, that’s more fun than a Seahorse? Jeff, don’t put your hand up. Betsy - do you want to be a Bonobo? If you’re a Bonobo, I want to be a Bonobo.
I am a Human. We use thousands of sounds and symbols to communicate with great deception. We are usually groomed by paid strangers. We live in small family units separate from each other. Large “nations” of many millions establish territorial boundaries that are defended and attacked with great violence. We exhibit huge disparity in wealth, frequently due to skin color. We are usually patriarchal, unlike the cooperative groups mentioned earlier. We are more correctly categorized as “anti-social” because the word “socialist” is widely hated and feared.
Elon Musk Admits (with mask above)
I want to live on Mars
I want to make self-driving cars
That’s what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
I own twitter, I renamed it X
I have eleven children, I named one X
That’s what I wanted to do
Because I don’t care about you
With my money I could halt starvation and disease
Or end homelessness, if I please
But that’s not what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
I could provide universal health
Or tuition-free college, with my wealth
But that’s not what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
I could end poverty
Or improve democracy
Or make public transportation free
But that’s not what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
I am richer than Hungary, richer than Bangladesh
I’m richer than Malaysia, but I still want more success
I only have 800 billion
I want more more more more than a trillion
I want more money more money more money until my worth
Is greater than the planet Earth
Is greater than the universe
That’s what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
I love tax evasion
I fear corporate regulation
But most of all, I hate hate hate socialistic nations
I do not want to be generous or kind
I want my money to be mine all mine!
I want to fly in rockets all over outer space
I want to get away from the stupid human race
That’s what I want to do
Because I don’t care about you
Anti-Capitalists Quiz Contest (with placards)
“We’re not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, we’re going to fight it with socialism” - Fred Hampton
Hint: He was an extremely powerful public speaker
Hint: He was in the Black Panther Party in Chicago
Hint: He was killed by the FBI and police when he was 21 years old.
The goal of the future is full unemployment so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present economic system” - Arthur C. Clark
Hint: He lived in Sri Lanka and enjoyed scuba diving
Hint: He predicted satellite communication
Hint: He was an English science fiction writer
Hint: He wrote 2001 A Space Odyssey
Hint: His first name is Arthur
“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.” - Ursula K Le Guin
Hint: She was born in Berkeley where her father was an Anthropology professor
Hint: Her mother wrote a book about an indigenous man in California
Hint: She was an award-wining science fiction & fantasy writer
Hint: Her first name was Ursela
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires" - John Steinbeck
Hint: He won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel prize
Hint: He was a California novelist
Hint: He wrote books about Monterey and Salinas
Hint: His first name was John
The greatest bulwark of capitalism is militarism - Emma Goldman
Hint: Her work as a nurse and midwife — shaped her radical feminism.
Hint: She opposed World War I and got arrested for it
Hint: She was a Russian-born Jewish-American activist
Hint: She said “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of your revolution”
Hint: Her first name was Emma
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” - Edward Abbey
Hint: He worked as a park ranger and was a wilderness lover.
Hint: He was a radical environmentalist
Hint: He wrote The Monkey Wrench Gang
Hint: His first name is Edward
Those who do not move do not notice their chains - Rosa Luxembourg
Hint: She was very small and she walked with a limp
Hint: She was a Polish Russian German Jewish revolutionary activist
Hint: She was killed by a far right paramilitary group in Berlin in 1919
Hint: Her first name was Rosa
I believe in the possibility of democracy, but democracy needs to be emancipated from capitalism - Angela Davis
Hint: She studied philosophy in Europe
Hint: She was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List
Hint: She was tried for murder and acquitted
Hint: She lives in California and is a professor at UC Santa Cruz
Hint: She is a black intellectual interested in prison abolition and feminism
Hint: Her first name is Angela
"Capitalism is the belief that the nastiest of people for the nastiest of reasons will work for the benefit of all" - John Maynard Keynes.
Hint: He was part of the Bloomsbury Group — an intellectual circle famous for radical art, radical politics, and radical relationships.
Hint: He was an economist who founded a school of thought in macroeconomics
Hint: His first name was John
Hint: His middle name is Maynard
Ken and Barbie’s Woke Dilemma (w/dolls)
Ken and Barbie wanted to protest
The US fascist government
But in preparing for a rally
They both got hesitant
“Excuse me, Barbie” said Ken
In his masculine voice
“Your Givenchy jacket is elitist
Can you make a better choice?”
“Yes, you’re right,” said Barbie
In her feminine twang
“I’ll leave it here, I’ll just be cold ‘cause
I don’t own a proletariat brand.”
Barbie now said:
“Ken, your coat Is from a sweatshop in Pakistan
You can’t wear it at this rally
Put it in a garbage can”
“You’re correct” said Ken, “I will take it off right now
But don’t you think your leather boots suggest
You massacred a cow?”
“You’re quite right,” said Barbie
I’ll pull them off, I will not tarry
But — Ken - your camo shorts -
are very military
“You’re correct,” said Ken, removing them
He stood in underpants and shirt
“But Barbie,” he suggested, “It’s violent and speciest
For you to wear that Leopard print skirt”
Barbie disrobed and said “Dear Ken,
You hypocrisy has a foul smell
That shirt you’re wearing is Zionist
The brand supports Israel”
They stood there, their skins near clear
Just two panties, one brassiere
Ken said, “it is my again turn to be firm -
Our undies were created by enslaved silk worms”
Off these clothes came,
Ken and Barbie do not want to be rude
So now they are … completely nude
“We’re ready now,” said Barbie, “to go and virtue signal”
“I’m not sure” said Ken, “we both shaved our public hair -
that will trigger someone, sometime, somewhere”
“No No No” said Barbie, “We’re as morally decent as can be.
We must march, wave signs and do the chants
Even though, we wear no underpants.”
Off they went, brave citizens, Ken and Barbie’s rumps
Went to cheer democracy
And boo the evil Trump.
The moral of this educational poem is - don’t worry
About your clothes or hair
Don’t delay for silly reasons
Just get your butt out there
Works in Progress - for next show
Of Course You Have Democracy
Of course you have Democracy - one person one vote - decisions made by majority Of course you have Democracy Of course you do Of course you do do do
It’s true Wyoming residents have 40 times more Senate representation than a Californian does - But of course you have democracy Of course you do do do
Its true the national popular vote does not determine the winner of a Presidential campaign - the Electoral College does But of course you have democracy Of course you do do do
it’s true that 70% of Americans want universal healthcare but the politicians don’t provide it But of course you have democracy Of course you do
Of course you have democracy. It’s true 85% of Americans want background checks for guns but all they get is thoughts and prayers and a moment of silence But of course you have democracy Of course you do
It’s true that 65% of Americans want higher taxes on the ultra-rich but what you get is a tax break for yachts and a lecture on “job Creation” But of course you have democracy. Of course you do.
It’s true that 70% of Americans want the government to negotiate for lower and affordable drug prices… but the pharmaceutical lobby bribes politicians to oppose this. But of course you have democracy of course you do
It’s true that 65% of Americans want marijuana legalized… and what you have instead is people still in prison for a plant. But of course you have democracy Of course you do Land of the FREE ?
Of course you have democracy. It’s true that 65% of Americans want paid family leave after a baby is born, and longer vacations, like every developed nation offers except the USA But of course you have democracy of course you do… Land of the FREE
It’s true that 60% of Americans want the federal government to raise the minimum wage but that hasn’t happened But of course you have Democracy Of course you do
It’s true that 70% of Americans want abortion legal in most or all cases but but it isn’t legal everywhere due to a Supreme Court that is not elected and serves a lifetime But of course you have Democracy of course you do
It’s true 65% of Americans want student debt relief and tuition-free community colleges It’s true that 70% of Americans want Election Day to be a holiday it’s true that 70% of Americans want Congress banned from trading stocks and want Citizens United over-turned and want public funding of elections it’s true 60% of Americans want the District of Columbia to have full representation It’s true that 80% of American want corporations to pay their fair share, but loopholes and tax havens remain But none of that is happening
But of course you still - of course you still - but of course you still - have democracy- have democracy - have democracy - have democracy - ha ha ha ha ha
Of course you do of course you do of course you do do do do do do do
Communalist Tribes - rough draft - work in progress
The Aleut
• Hunting sea lions and whales from large skin boats with synchronized paddling. The catch was distributed across the village.
• Food Preservation - drying fish and meat - was organized at the community level.
Communal Housing for Multiple-families was Built cooperatively.
Collective Child-Rearing - with frequent Adoptions, Children moving fluidly among relatives and Orphans absorbed into households without stigma.
• Gift economy with Status tied to generosity
The Inuit
Structured Food Sharing of Seal & Whale Meat. Elders and widows were prioritized.
Cooperative Whale Hunting with large crews and synchronized activity.
Tools and lamps are shared and maintained cooperatively.
Children often had multiple “parents” in practice. No rigid nuclear-family isolation.
Conflict Resolution via Song duels / public ridicule contests. Public shame regulates behavior - no formal courts are necessary
The Kabyle Berbers
Village Assembly called the Tajmaat is a core cooperative institution. Decisions are made collectively about Land use Water allocation Public works
• Common grazing lands Shared forest use, Water distribution and irrigation channels maintained collectively.
• Collective agricultural labor. Villagers help one household, then rotate. Used for building houses and olive harvests.
Community funds widows and families in hardship. Wedding and funeral costs supported collectively. Generosity enhanced honor.
Village assemblies mediated disputes: Fines rather than imprisonment. Public reconciliation to restore harmony.
The Dayaks of Borneo
The Longhouse (Communal Living) is a central social structure. It is A single elongated building housed many families. Construction requires collective labor.
Cooperative Agriculture Collective clearing of forest plots. Mutual labor exchange between households. Rice harvests were done cooperatively.
Labor-sharing systems meant no household faced the most difficult agricultural phases alone.
• Families helped one another build houses.
Shared Land Tenure Allocated to families for use, not absolute private ownership.
Adat (Customary Law Restitution and compensation were preferred over punitive imprisonment.
!Kung San
◦ Food is shared widely; meat distributed to all camp members.
◦ No individual accumulation of surplus.
• High material equality; everyone receives a share according to need.
• Reputation and skill matter for prestige, but wealth inequality is near zero.
Ache
◦ Hunting and gathering returns shared with all adults and children.
◦ strongly discourage hoarding.
• Egalitarian distribution of food and tools.
Tonga
• Generations Co-resident: Often 3+ in extended family compounds
• Cooperation: Farming, fishing, communal feasts, ceremonial labor (koloa)
• Economic Egalitarianism: Moderate; chiefs control some surplus, but redistribution through feasting and communal work balances inequality
The Peasant Who Became A Condor (TBA)