Remember the moral economy?
Back in the 18th century when
Citizens would register anger
At unjust wages and unfair prices
With protests, demonstrations, gatherings,
Rioting, strikes, and beating pots and pans
In a cacophony of rough music,
With carnival skimmington processions,
And letters to the landlords and the rich
With a repertoire of collective dissent.
This was the expression and practice
Of the moral economy at work and play:
The belief in ethics and morality,
In justice, fair play and commonality,
Rather than the ‘laws’ of supply and demand:
The red in tooth and claw market forces
Of profit-seeking capitalism.
Remember William Blake:
‘To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower’?
…
The Heavens, the Long Table, Doverow Hill,
Juniper Hill, Cirencester Park,
Food banks, the cost-of-living crisis:
Once more the moral economy
Is confronted by the search for profit.
What next in the repertoire of dissent,
From the proud traditions and heritage
Of the moral economy?
What next?