I hate this strife, this mode of life
Privatised, atomised, systemised dividing lines
Each for themselves and the devil take the hindmost
Winner takes all and it's first past the post
Yet most still host the ghost of a community
The safety in numbers and the strength in unity
Look out for each other there's a measure of immunity
'gainst slings and arrows, we all stand in surety

I've gotta insist it wasn't always like this
I remember a time of more neighbourliness
Up and down the street you knew people's names
Games in gardens, fences climbing frames
A shame kids today won't grow up the same
You can blame Maggie Thatcher or the Daily Mail
You can blame yourself for not jumping the rails
When it's all too obvious this system's failed

Cos it's not just houses, it's also the shops
It's the 90 minute morning jaunt to get to your job
The temporary contract, the non-union deal
Your TV, your car and your microwave meal
It's the commodification of your whole damn life
They're playing for profit and you're paying the price
The source of the sickness, like plague-bearing lice
You bleed, they feed, they're parasites

Let's cut to the chase: who serves who?
Do you serve the market or does the market serve you?

The Dawkins and Kropotkins of this world have made
The case for the basis of mutual aid
Self-interest extends beyond family and friends
To the whole of society and as a process it tends
To elevate what's great in the upright ape:
Compassion, sacrifice, and the drive to create,
Co-operate, communicate and elucidate
Rise above our limitations and challenge our fate

No-one ever moved a mountain working alone
Without a social context you can't develop and grow
Can't work the land, can't form a band
So drop your ego and give Sisyphus a hand
Collectively we're so much stronger
When we care for the sick we live much longer
Solidarity speaks straight to the heart
While capitalist competition only tears us apart
Solidarity elevates humanity