John Cage's first substantive essay was written in 1928 and delivered in Los Angeles as a prize-winning speech at the Southern California Oratorical Contest. Entitled “Other People Think,” it addressed “American Intervention in Latin America” – in particular, the control of Bolivia's finances by a cartel of American bankers and the Marine Corps’ military intervention in Nicaragua. It was hortative and predictive: “We must learn that the day is coming when no one will need our aid … our posterity must not be slandered as the devotee of a Golden God” (Kostelanetz 1971, pp. 48–49). Cage liked it.

Cage was revising his final essay, “Overpopulation and Art,” at the time of his death, having delivered it at Stanford in January 1992. It too is hortative; indeed, it is remarkably directive in its admonitions: “first the wOrld's prime / Vital / problEm is how / to multiply by thRee … / … / … the overall / Performance realizations of the world's / comprehensive resoUrces … / … / next instead Of ownership / indiVidual / 24 hour usE of facilities / … / and then stOpping / the remoVal / of fossil fuEls / fRom the earth / … / third alOng with / the remoVal / of nations thE / Removal of schools …” (Perloff & Junkerman 1994, pp. 28–30).