Poetry: Populist Prejudice – Politics in the Land of Automation

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What’s an ideologue without an ideology?

The populist messiah of a jobless democracy.

The man of the people rages against the corrupt elite,

We’ll march against foreigners, ’cause we can’t lynch machines.

They hate us, we hate them, there’s not much else to do;

When the employment exchange closes shop, ’cause employers are too few.

He can’t offer jobs, but at least he’s found us a cause,

Policy drowns in a sinking economy, sentiment swims on fiery applause.

A dictator in the making, or a martyr for the cause,

Sacrificing immigrants on the altar of the automation gods.

Who wants mechanical enemies, when you can have flesh and blood?

Brown skin, blue eyes, all dying in the mud.

First they came for the factories, next they’ll come for the cars;

Universal basic income, but your basic is my farce.

Newsmen say the youth are rioting for their rights,

Might a charismatic demagogue lead an army of Luddites?

Can a dictator be elected, deception legalized?

If robots serve at diners, can prejudice be enfranchised?

A system fueled by the desperation of the masses

If there’re no jobs to be had, we’ll buy a war with our taxes.