The money feels good
And your life you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell

You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called survivin’
At the end of the harder they come

You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun

[chorus]

Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game was survivin’
As in heaven as in hell

[chorus, etc.]

Ivan is Ivanhoe Martin from the reggae/gangster movie “The Harder They Come.” Reggae and reggae culture were a major influence on The Clash — for example Police and Thieves.

Ivan basically turns to a life of crime after being cheated out of a hit record. He dies in a gunfight on a beach at the end of the movie.

Seen in that light, I’m not sure this analysis is correct. The predicate of the song is more about being pushed into a life of crime by “circumstance” and then living the gangster life. And only then being forced into conflict with the police. He has no “choice” because “they caught him with a gun”.