A short off-the-cuff essay I done, analysing the cut song: "Biggering" from the Lorax
Biggering; a Critique of corporatism
The song starts optimistically but in the past tense.
"...I had a little cottage and that cottage was enough"
I see this as an appraisal of small-scale capitalism, that the idea of a market-based economy isn't inherently flawed, and that it rewards people for being entrepreneurial and working hard, however, this idea is juxtaposed when the song then says
"But now I've had a little time to reassess my needs
And I need a bigger office, I need a bigger chair...
...And biggering is triggering more biggering"
I see this now as the song acknowledging that in a market economy, the market is unable to be trusted when left to their own devices, as small, family-owned style businesses are crushed as the leading company starts to form a monopoly based on infinite unsustainable growth, their growth only giving them a mandate to grow even further, slowly turning into a mega-corporation.
The song then talks about instincts and survival of the fittest,
"There is a principle of nature that most every creature knows
It's called survival of the fittest and this is how it goes
The animal that wins has got to claw and kick and punch
The animal that doesn't winds up someone else's lunch".
I don't think this is literally talking about the idea of the survival of the fittest, which is in itself flawed, but rather a critique of pro-capitalist arguments that reduce the argument to, "humans are innately greedy". To me this is meant to be a sort of meta justification for the Once-ler, and humanity at large, that capitalism is just natural and humans aren't capable of collectivist thought at large, and because of that, we should just accept the way things are. The example of survival of the fittest here is over-exaggerated but serves it's purpose well, showing how people will literally justify violence, "...has got to claw and kick and punch" by inventing strawmen to pit themselves against "... winds up someone else's lunch", as ofcourse the Once-ler is not an animal, struggling to survive, but a man abusing his powers to destroy the planet for short term unsustainable growth, but is so desperate to make it seem as though he is innocent he resorts to arguing that humans are simply incapable of living otherwise, a very reductive debate tactic.
By the end of the song, the Once-ler goes full mask-off when talking about the economy and his business, namely in this final section of the song,
"And the PR people lying
And the lawyers all denying
Who cares if some things are dying?
I don't wanna hear your crying".
Here we see the Once-ler going full megalomaniac, who cares if bad things are happening? I'm profiting! Whilst obviously a simple one, it is an effective critique of individualist societies and laissez-faire capitalism, that if one person can benefit from something that won't effect them but have otherwise harsh repercussions, why would they care? We see this in real life, with billionaires and their stunts, private jets, lobbying, tax breaks, etc... it may be a simple argument, but it is a real and understandable one. To conclude, I think the cancelled song "The Biggering" from the 2012 movie adaptation of Dr Seuss's "The Lorax" is an effective, digestible critique of capitalism whilst still acknowledging the benefits of market economies on a small, local scale but critiquing the infinite growth model of modern companies based on short term profit margins.