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Some friends of mine from the exotic animal community, have a piece of art in their home, which has fascinated me for years. It bears the title "Return of the Screw", and it is a drawing that dates to the Early Seventies.
The drawing shows a giant screw, which has a crowd of kings, presidents, industrial tycoons, movie stars, musicians, and other nobility standing on the head, while beneath them, ordinary poor to middle class folks are struggling their way up the threads to try and get to the top.
Some of those on the uppermost threads are trying to reach up, and to climb and/or pull themselves onto the head, but nearly all of them are being shoved off by those already on top, and are falling to their deaths.
On the lower quarter of the screw, however, something different is going on, as the poorest and most wretched have all turned around, and are making their way down to the point, and simply jumping off.
I have always thought that this piece was one of the most succinct and powerful statements about Social Darwinism that I have ever seen. While I have never believed that Communism or Socialism (at least as most people understand it), is an effective answer either, every time I hear someone going on about trickle-down economics, or about how 'a truly FREE market will sort everything out', I once again find myself thinking about that drawing.
I also realise that I don't have the answers, either.
The drawing shows a giant screw, which has a crowd of kings, presidents, industrial tycoons, movie stars, musicians, and other nobility standing on the head, while beneath them, ordinary poor to middle class folks are struggling their way up the threads to try and get to the top.
Some of those on the uppermost threads are trying to reach up, and to climb and/or pull themselves onto the head, but nearly all of them are being shoved off by those already on top, and are falling to their deaths.
On the lower quarter of the screw, however, something different is going on, as the poorest and most wretched have all turned around, and are making their way down to the point, and simply jumping off.
I have always thought that this piece was one of the most succinct and powerful statements about Social Darwinism that I have ever seen. While I have never believed that Communism or Socialism (at least as most people understand it), is an effective answer either, every time I hear someone going on about trickle-down economics, or about how 'a truly FREE market will sort everything out', I once again find myself thinking about that drawing.
I also realise that I don't have the answers, either.
Category Poetry / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 1.9 kB
Empathetic and understandable - we inhabit a world where every step upwards just leads to another stair.
As people, we all haul ourselves up the triangular constructs we define our reality with; money, influence, propriety, society, faith - apparently necessary values because (to this date) no one person has created a workable, agreeable, incorruptible alternative. There's no solace in the fact that the entire universe is founded on a comparable system of ever stretching into the sun whilst pruning away the lower roots - one would think the tree would collapse but inexplicably, the screw keeps on turning.
Its one of those odd quarks of existence that everybody desires to find a solution to, yet remains as intangible as the reason for reality - their quite certainly isn't one.
I would raise a comparison between a piece of dark imagery concerning how beings have a tendency to climb over each and crush each other down in times of panic or estrangement, but that would be dispiriting.
We could, follow the wisdom of the cliche and "look on the bright side" - there's always the possibility that you could climb another rung, after all.
Apologies, trailed off there slightly; It's a excellent verse, the intent is explicit as is the meaning. Well, I'm a proverbial sucker for anything which renders explicit, truthful social commentary.
Keep doing what you do.
As people, we all haul ourselves up the triangular constructs we define our reality with; money, influence, propriety, society, faith - apparently necessary values because (to this date) no one person has created a workable, agreeable, incorruptible alternative. There's no solace in the fact that the entire universe is founded on a comparable system of ever stretching into the sun whilst pruning away the lower roots - one would think the tree would collapse but inexplicably, the screw keeps on turning.
Its one of those odd quarks of existence that everybody desires to find a solution to, yet remains as intangible as the reason for reality - their quite certainly isn't one.
I would raise a comparison between a piece of dark imagery concerning how beings have a tendency to climb over each and crush each other down in times of panic or estrangement, but that would be dispiriting.
We could, follow the wisdom of the cliche and "look on the bright side" - there's always the possibility that you could climb another rung, after all.
Apologies, trailed off there slightly; It's a excellent verse, the intent is explicit as is the meaning. Well, I'm a proverbial sucker for anything which renders explicit, truthful social commentary.
Keep doing what you do.
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