Not everything in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia, Limited came true in the decade that is now coming to an end. The vision of a world where every single individual becomes a corporation (“There is not a christened baby in Utopia who has not already issued his little Prospectus!”) will have to wait until the ’10s. But the explanation of how corporations work, and how no financial disaster can ever affect the “seven men” who form those corporation, seems like as good an explanation of the events of 2008-9 as any.

Here is the D’Oyly Carte audio recording of the song (and the Act 1 finale that follows) with lyrics:

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