"Victorian capitalism" - which drastically raised living standards for Western societies - was a long time ago.

I think the point of the article was that government can go too far, and left unchallenged, it will. The second point was that it is doing so right here and now. Your "pendulum" has already gone way past the middle point. It's in shark territory and approaching whale territory.

And here's the key: Democrats, liberals, and the Left refuse to step back one bloody inch toward the middle, never mind serious reforms. In fact, most insist the pendulum hasn't been forced forward anywhere near far enough yet. That's where this country is right here. Right now.

Did that even occur to you while you wrote that well-written response? People champion the so-called middle ground, and then crap on it in every specific issue that comes up.