Stafford Beer

Sometimes
I wake up at night in a cold sweat
Feelin like a damn fool
In spite
Of everyone's good intentions
The world is so damn cruel!

Now I see
How all of it can be confusing
But it isn't that bad!
Could it be
The problem's the logic you're using
Making you feel sad

It's simpler than you might think because
The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does

My phone is a system
That makes me stupid and mean
With a screen
To sell data and advertising

My school is a system
For charging exorbitant fees
So that teens
Get degrees in extinct industries

It's simpler than you might think because
The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does

The news is a system
To make me think
That the things that I think
Are the same things that everyone thinks

A bank is a system
That borrows money from me
Interest free
To invest in an oil company

It's simpler than you might think because
The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does

The law is a system
To make me think I have rights
Cus I'm white and well-funded
And don't try to fight

Elections are systems
To make you think that you chose
To impose
All the dreams of a few CEOs

It's simpler than you might think because
The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does

The army's a system
Extorting the poor into
Killing the poor
To get mortgages they can afford

NATO is a system
For starting a war
And then selling protection
So holdings of Raytheon soar

It's simpler than you might think because
The purpose of a system is what it does
The purpose of a system is what it does