Colour Line
Breaking Chains: Unveiling the Global Nexus of Power, Poverty, and Racism
Lyrics
Today the colour line
Today, racial segregation and discrimination persist.
Is the power line
Racial divisions hold significant influence and control.
Is the poverty line
Racial disparities contribute to economic inequality.
Racism and imperialism work in tandem
Racism and imperialism operate in coordination.
And poverty is their handmaiden
Poverty serves as a companion to racism and imperialism.
Those who are poor and powerless to break out of their poverty
Those in poverty lack the means to escape their situation.
Are also those who by and large are non-white, non-western, third world
The impoverished are often non-white, non-western, from the third world.
Poverty and powerlessness are intertwined in color, in race
Racial identity and powerlessness are interconnected.
Discrimination and exploitation
Discrimination and exploitation are prevalent.
Feed into each other today,
Discrimination and exploitation reinforce each other in the contemporary world.
Under global capitalism
This phenomenon is particularly evident in the era of global capitalism.
We are back to primitive accumulation
A return to the primitive accumulation of wealth and resources.
Plunder on a world scale
Large-scale exploitation and looting on a global scale.
Only this time, the pillage is accompanied by aid, sustained by expert advice and underpinned by programmes and polices that perpetuate dependency
Modern pillaging aided by international assistance, expert advice, and policies sustaining dependency.
The IMF, the World Bank, Structural adjustment programmes
International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Structural Adjustment Programmes contribute to this exploitation.
General agreement on tariffs and trade-gatt
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is part of this exploitative system.
Are just a few of the organizations, schemes, projects
Various organizations and projects contribute to the exploitation under the guise of third-world development.
Which under the guise of developing the third world.
These entities exploit rather than develop the third world.
Plunder it
The act of exploiting and taking advantage of the third world.
Trade agreements and commodity price fixing, patients and intellectual rights
Trade agreements and fixing commodity prices contribute to keeping nations in a paralyzed state of dependency.
They lock them into paralytic dependency
International agreements and policies restrict the development of third-world nations.
There is no such thing as illegal immigrants,
Claims that immigrants are "illegal" are unfounded; the real issue lies with oppressive governments.
Only illegal governments
Governments can be deemed illegal based on their oppressive actions.
Today, the colour line
Reiteration of the persistence of racial segregation and discrimination today.
Is the power line
Racial divisions still hold significant power in contemporary society.
Is the poverty line
Racial disparities continue to contribute to economic inequality.
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