The Song - Take #2, Hayek, And Thatcher

My last post, on Baba Pagal Nath Charsi's take on Pink Floyd's "We Don't Need No Education," received a highly encouraging response from my old school chum, Bruce Stidston, who was the drummer of our school rock band while I was lead vocal. It is not exactly what the Baba had in mind - "We Don't Need No Legislation" - but it is very interesting nevertheless. Bruce writes, from England:

Now call me cynical, but I cannot think of politicians without thinking of a bunch of pig-snouts all jostling for any power, money and control they can extract from a constantly replenished food trough — a trough that's constantly replenished (on pain of imprisonment for tax avoidance) by the honest taxpayer. With a bit of creative licence, the trough becomes The Bowl.

So I propose that, instead of The Wall, we have The Bowl. I'm sure you can readily picture the album cover!

He attached a picture with his mail, and that is the picture accompanying this post.

Here is Bruce's song:

We don't need no central planning
We don't need no price controls
No interference with our households
Chacha, leave our lives alone.
Hey! Chacha! Leave our lives alone!
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl.

Verse 2: [in the children's voices]
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We don't need your 'Education'
We don't need your State control
No propaganda in the classroom
Chacha - leave us kids alone!
Hey! Chacha! Leave us kids alone!
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl.

Verse 3:
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We don't need your Centralism
We don't need your bungling laws
No public 'servants' enslaving people
No Statists manipulating the poor.
Hey! Chacha! Leave our people alone!
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl
All in all, you're just another snout in the Bowl.

[Teachers' mocking voices]
"Don't argue, the State knows better!"
"I'm not here to help you, I'm here to Govern you!"
"If I want to justify my place at the Bowl, I need to control your life!"
"You! Yes, you and the other intellectuals — shut up!"

Really encouraging, this. Hopefully, we will have a great song - or even an album - someday soon.

However, the Baba feels that "We Don't Need No Legislation" MUST be the title and the central focus of the new song. This idea, that Legislation is NOT Law was first mooted, to my knowledge, by the great Bruno Leoni. His views influenced Friedrich Hayek - and Hayek wrote a three volume masterpiece on the subject, titled Law, Legislation & Liberty. In this, he broke ground with his earlier work, The Constitution of Liberty. I hope Bruce will find the time to read at least the first two (slim) volumes of Law, Legislation & Liberty - and, to egg him along, let me quote from a speech Margaret Thatcher delivered in the House of Commons in 1981, which can be found here. She said:

I am a great admirer of Professor Hayek. Some of his books are absolutely supreme—"The Constitution of Liberty" and the three volumes on "Law, Legislation and Liberty"—and would be well read by almost every hon. Member.

So, Brucey, let's give it another shot.

It must be "We Don't Need No Legislation." The Baroness Thatcher would surely agree.