rastafaustrian

To a list of Misesians, Seth Daniels wrote:

Was just listening to a CD by Peter Tosh, the reggae great and one of my favorite musicians. I hadn't listened to the CD in its entirety since well before I had heard of the Austrians. Now I find it incredibly amusing that in addition to being a musical genius, this "uneducated" musician understands economics and inflation better than the average Princeton PhD in Economics.

Below are the lyrics from 2 of the songs on the CD (but you really have to listen to it rather than read the lyrics). Most of the hippies who listen to his music think he is criticizing capitalism, but I strongly belive that he is critiquing dishonest money and political systems rather than capitalism. Why do I think this? On one of my favorite tracks, Mystery Babylon (a biblical reference used by the rastafarians to describe the corrupt political system that rules over them) Tosh tells the States to take back their various fiat currencies ("Take back your pound, your shilling and your dollar") and replace them with commodities ("Gimme back me gold, me ruby and diamond").

The day the dollar die

I see Johnny with his head hanging down
Wondering how many schillings left in that pound
Cost of living it is rising so high
Dollar see that have heart attack and die

Bills and budgets are waiting
Finance ministers anticipating
Unemployment is rising
And I hear my people, they're crying

The day the dollar die
Things are gonna be better
The day the dollar die
No more corruption
The day the dollar die
People will respect eachother
The day the dollar die

Tell me brother
Is there something I can do
Don't you let frustrations make you blue

Time is hard
And I know that is true
But if you pick yourself up
That's all you've got to do

Things can be much better
If we can come together
Long time we been divided
And it's time we be inited

The day the dollar die
Gonna be better
The day the dollar die
I won't need no pockets
The day the dollar die
Don't have to be frettin'
The day the dollar die

Now I see you standing on your feet
And you can also make two ends meet
Never you let life problems get you down
There is always a solution to be found

Bills and budgets are mourning
Finance ministers groaning
Unemployment is rising
And I hear my people crying from the ghetto

The day the dollar die
It's gonna be nice
The day the dollar die
Just you wait and see
The day this here dollar die
There be no more inflation
The day the dollar die

I say the day Danny dollar die
The day Sammy dollar die
We will love eachother
I said the day this a dollar die
Fight some inflation


Crystal Ball

Lookin' at your crystal ball culture man
I say Lookin' in your crystal ball culture man
What do you see culture man
Tell me what do you see culture man

I see people victim
Prices rising
Gas shortage
And the dollar devalue

In the city
In a you shitty
In the city
In a the shitty

Come on lookin' at your crystal ball culture man
Come on lookin' at your crystal ball culture man
What do you see culture man
Tell What do you see culture man

I see them churches locked down
Schools closed down
Politicians promising
Teacher striking

In the city
In a you shitty
In the city
In a the shitty

Come on come on lookin' at your crystal ball culture man
I say lookin' at your crystal ball culture man
Tell me tell me what do you see culture man
Tell me what do you see culture man

I see youths rising
Blood running
Fire burning
Got crying

In a the shitty
In a the shitty
In the city
It is a shitty

Lookin' at you crystal ball culture man
I say lookin' at you crystal ball culture man
What do you see culture man
Tell me what what do you see culture man
I see truth revealing
People cleansing
Downpresser chasing
People seeing
In a the shitty...

I say lookin' at you crystal ball culture man
Keep on lookin' at you crystal ball culture man
Let us have a view on the inside
We see too much of the outside

Give me a glimpse in a you crystal ball culture man
Make me see what a gwan culture man
Long time we blind
So so blind


No Nuclear War

We don't want no nuclear war
With nuclear war we won't get far
I said that We don't want no nuclear war
With nuclear war we won't get far

Said no, just another holocaust
It's just another holocaust
And we can't take no more
(CHORUS)

Too many people are hungry
They don't have food to eat
They are naked
'Cause they don't have clothes to wear

They are going insane
Because of the condition
A million babies
Are suffering from malnutrition

CHORUS
I can't take no more

I saw WWI
Where lotsa trouble begun
I saw WWII
When the pirates came right through

Lookin' for WWIII
But you got to set me free
Free from the chains
And this here misery

CHORUS
We can't take no more

Unemployment
I said the rate is high
So much sick people
I'm sure they gonna die

So much mad people
Gettin' ready to explode
'Fore somebody
Come help them carry this load

CHORUS

One country deploying MX
Another country deploying SS
Inflation goin' way up high
And the dollar is going way down low

CHORUS

Crying, bawling, they can't take no more
I hear them moaning they can't take no more
They don't wanna die
They want to go to Heaven, yeah

But they can't
They can't take no more
They gettin' low
They can't take no more

They gettin' grief
They can't take no more
They gettin' beat
They can't take no more

They gettin' lazy
Cause They can't take no more
Bored
They can't take no more

Frustrated
They can't take no more
Pleading for them
They can't take no more

Can't you hear me pleading for them
Cause They can't take no more

They want to live in peace
And happiness
Let the trees grow
Let the waters flow...

I asked if I could quote him here.

He very graciously gave permission and then supplemented:

If you want you can add something about Tosh's spotty record on property rights--hey, no one's perfect. For instance, when Keith Richards lent Tosh the use of his home in Jamaica, Tosh, true to character, assumed the loan to be a transfer of title. Keith made a concerted effort to alert Tosh by phone, mail, and carrier pigeon to the fact that Richards in fact wanted his home back, but Tosh demurred and informed Keith that he had a shotgun. Keith of course, like any good libertarian, responded by teling Tosh that he was possessed of a gun as well, and that Tosh should check and double check to ensure that his gun was loaded and pointed in the proper direction, because he would be home momentarily. When Richards returned, he found his home trashed, but lacking a certain reggae squatter.