You think I haven't gone through any hardships
Cause I was raised in communes instead of projects?
That's why I've always had problems with the opposite s**
Cause I was taught never to treat women as objects
And never to treat anything simple as complex
And vise versa
But I can't remember what I was taught next
See that's the problem with hippie kids
They stop listening when you teach them
Not to listen to hypocrites
But most of us still can't appreciate the differences
Between civil disobedience and criminal deviance
It's the difference between fixing the system and pimpin' it
Cause corruption ain't the same as honest work
I try to separate the pigs from police officers
And I can see nuances
Cause I was raised by philosophers
But nuance isn't popular
And neither am I
My whole life I've been trying to read between the lines
And I've never been penalized for speaking my mind
So freedom is mine
I'm a scorpion and a libra combined
With a fist and a peace sign on either side
And I'm just trying to equalize
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract
Cause sometimes freedom is violent
It gets derailed
The system fails whenever freedom tips the scales
When a sadistic freak is freed from a prison cell
Or a big business victimizes people with its sales
Some say we need chaos
But when a government falls
Another one pops up
It's like juggling rubber balls
We don't need more freedom
We need tougher laws
Dirty energy should be double the cost
With subsidies involved for those with no money
It's gonna be pretty hard to keep the show running
If nobody believes there's any room for change
We need fewer cars and more commuter trains
And new laws to make sure polluters pay
For what they do to our food chains
These are the changes institutions can make
If we just use our brains
Instead of TVs and computer games
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract
See I'm all about change
But I'm not about the counter culture
Standing around with a frown and a stomach ulcer
Making the occasional ethical purchase
While dismissin' politics as nothing but a nest of serpents
As soon as you're done talking
Try running for office
Try becoming part of something positive
There's really nothing stopping us
It's just a problem of optics
In the absence of reason
There's no illusion of freedom
The illusion is a lack of freedom
And we're losing to these illusions
But we can't join 'em
We have to beat 'em
And just because I'm getting disillusioned with libertarians
Doesn't make me a disciplinarian
We need different solutions for different areas
From overfishing the oceans to carbon emission tariffs
From the Arab militiamen
To the American Michigan Aryans
We need some significant barriers
This may sound ridiculous from a kid with hippie parents
But sometimes it's just hilarious
How addicted we are
To the idea that we should never be restricted at all
But if freedom means driving an SUV
And never having to clean up the mess you leave
I say we need to be less free
I don't expect you to agree
But you did listen at least
And now you're free to take this lesson or leave it
Peace
You bomb me I bomb you
We both bomb back
We need a social contract
It's a race to the bottom
And we don't want that
Trapped in constant mortal combat
Every smoke stack's gotta have a carbon tax
Now, that's a social contract
I'm done with outlaws
I want the laws intact
It's time for a social contract