“DOGS” Pink Floyd (1977)

“DOGS”Pink Floyd (1977) Group ML47 Brian McCaffrey Jake Arnold Andy Kahan Econ 004 Section 002

You gotta be crazy, You gotta have a real need. You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street,You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed. Firms have to “pick out the easy meat”, in other words beat out others firms, by COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE. This includes having technological advantages, increased efficiency of manufacturing, and minimal costs of production.

And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight,You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking. When AGGREGATE DEMAND rises, producers can set their prices higher to meetthemarket equilibrium and maximize profits, thus “striking when the moment is right”.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,So that when they turn their backs on you,You'll get the chance to put the knife in. • The club tie, handshake, etc. are tools and tricks of the trade of a businessman, all helping him to gain the trust and confidence of his associates and customers. • SAYS LAW states that supply creates its own demand • In the KEYNESIAN MODEL, the market is demand-determined. Therefore consumers have the upper-hand in the market and producers have an incentive to mislead the consumers to gain the upper-hand.

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as youget older.And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south,Hide your head in the sand,Just another sad old man,All alone and dying of cancer. As younger, more efficient workers enter the LABOR FORCE, the older, less productive workers will find themselves UNEMPLOYED. But if someone “packs up and moves down south” (ie: retirement), choosing to no longer work, they will no loner be counted in the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.

And when you loose control, You'll reap the harvest you have sown.And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone. • The more you put in, the more you get out. Productive efficiency is often seen when a firms inputs are at minimal costs, such that the firm is able to “reap the harvest they have sown.” • If “fear grows” or future expectations become bleak, CONSUMER CONFIDENCE decreases, which may result in a RECESSION.

And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around.So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,Dragged down by the stone. In this instance, the “weight you used to need to throw around” is the influence and power you wield as a successful business man. The “stone” has a double metaphor. First, it represents the struggle a businessman endures and what eventually brings him down. Secondly, it refers to a “stone” used to drown unwanted puppies in an overcrowded litter, symbolizing the everyday struggle of the working class man.

I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused.Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used. In Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” metaphor, individuals pursue their own self-interests to support the market as a whole. In the big picture of the market, one single person can have little to no effect in shaping the economy, therefore become lost or “used” by others.

Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of thismaze? Currently the U.S. economy is trying to “shake off” the economic woes of a RECESSION. In order for ENTREPRENUERS to succeed the government must guarantee private PROPERTY RIGHTS and enforce contracts so they can find their “way out of the maze”.

Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretendingThat everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend. If someone is expendable, there is no motivation for the employer to keep him or her as an employee, therefore they may find themselves FRICTIONALLY UNEMPLOYED.

And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winnerAnd everything's done under the sun,And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer. Economic development is often credited to CREATIVE DESTRUCTION . This means that some businesses are allowed to fail in order for new ones to form and lead to growth.

(Musical Interlude) In the final song of the album, “Pigs on the Wing, Part 2”, Roger Waters’ admits within the lyrics that he sees himself as a dog

(Musical Interlude) • Animals, Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album, released in 1977, separating the releases of Wish You Were Here and The Wall, is a concept album loosely based on George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, though in the book the animals represent roles in a communist society, and the album is a criticism of Capitalism. • The three core songs, bookended by the shorter love songs, “Pigs On the Wing: Parts 1 & 2”, depict a capitalist society in which three groups immerge, where Pigs represent the politicians, Dogs the businessmen that support the politicians (capitalists) and Sheep the masses that followed mindlessly

(Musical Interlude) During live performances of this song in his recent tours, Roger Waters and a few of the other musicians often play a hand of poker during the long instrumental breakdown in the middle of the song.

Who was born in a house full of pain.Who was trained not to spit in the fan.Who was told what to do by the man.Who was broken by trained personnel.Who was fitted with collar and chain.Who was given a pat on the back.Who was breaking away from the pack.Who was only a stranger at home.Who was ground down in the end.Who was found dead on the phone.Who was dragged down by the stone. • This verse connects the lifespan of a businessman rising up the ranks of a company, paralleled with the life of a dog. • Mainly, the negative effects of economic growth, include isolation and especially the breakdown of the family unit as well as the societal implicit costs of a growing economy. Another costs of economic growth, pollution, is depicted on the album cover.

“DOGS” Pink Floyd (1977)