"One upon a time there was a river. A small village of people lived by this river for as long a time as anyone remembered. The villagers would catch fish by the river. The villagers built a down going down to the river. Some built boats to fish from the river. Others made nets for fisherman. Some of the boat owners worked together to build a dock. The villagers made improvements to the river; by sinking debris in the water they would create habitat for bait fish that would draw in a greater number of target fish that the villagers wanted.
"Then one day, men on horses with swords and armor said that the river was the property of the king and the village must pay the kind for the privilege of using the king's river. Being afraid and intimidated by the men with horses, swords and armor, the villagers paid the demanded extortion.
"Over the years, the king would occasionally raise the fee. The villager became poorer and had to work more and harder to provide for theme selves under the burden of the taxation. The king gave the kings's second cousin twice removed, a grant for funds to build his own boat, a larger boat. The kings's second cousin twice removed used the funds to have a boat built and remaining funds to hire workers to man the boat and catch fish from the river. The king granted an exemption to the kings's second cousin twice remove for a much lower rate of taxation. The kings's second cousin twice removed, found that his boat operated at very narrow margins and sometimes at below cost because of the high-overhead of having to pay workers and having to maintain the boat.
"The kings's second cousin twice removed asked the kind to require a license to fish from the king's river; this way the kings's second cousin twice removed will have less competition because the kings's second cousin twice removed will be one of the few to receive such a license, and with less villagers catching less fish, the supply of fish will go down and the kings's second cousin twice removed, would have greater profit. The king agrees. The king declares that only licensed fishermen may fish from the king's river but the village much still pay the yearly taxes because the village subsists from the land which is the kings's property.
The kings's second cousin twice removed now can run a profitable business from his large boat. The business is so good, the kings's second cousin twice removed has four new large boats built and he hires nearby villagers to work on his boat. Having their land expropriated, having their many years of investments and improvements to the land and to the river taken from them and under a heavy tax-burden, the villagers have little other option but to accept employ with the kings's second cousin twice removed. Now the villagers work the king and the capitalist twice removed."
~ Darjeelingzen
