The law locks up the man or womanWho steals the goose from off the commonBut leaves the greater villain looseWho steals the common from off the goose. The law demands that we atoneWhen we take things we do not ownBut leaves the lords and ladies fineWho take things that are yours and mine.’ This was a 17th century protest against English enclosures. Enclosure was the process by which land in Britain which had been traditionally farmed by peasants was enclosed by those who technically held the deeds. It ceased to be land for communal use, usually transformed into private pasture or hunting grounds, which resulted in vast numbers of dispossessed poor and a process of steady depopulation of the countryside. Various versions of this anonymous verse exist – it’s a cry against the effects of unbridled private ownership and neoliberal values. Still relevant today, perhaps? (The backdrop, if you were wondering, is from a painting by a 19th century Italian artist, Antonio Montemezzo.)