As you never fail to remind us, over and over. I sometimes wonder if it isn't the socialism that bothers you more than the killing. And of course, how do you define socialism? It can range from an insect hive society to a restaurant inspector to make sure the meat isn't crawling with maggots before it's fried. No society can survive without some political control of the private sector. The spectrum is very wide. I think conservatives put the dividing line too far to the right. But they don't seem to think I want it too far to the left, they always talk as if there should be no line at all.

It's should be a matter of judgement just where that line is drawn, to be decided politically, not by ideological abstract principles. And it needs to be redrawn frequently as times change or strategies fail. It all depends on how you define the purpose of government. I believe conservatives want a government that will allow economic power to be completely controlled by those who possess it. I believe the purpose of
government is to protect those who have no economic power from those who do.

Remember, regardless of how you feel about socialism, history has demonstrated that if it weren't for the abuses of capitalism, there wouldn't be any socialists in the first place. And of course, as long as conservatives are desperate to do anything to stomp out even the slightest vestige of socialism, they will always guarantee there will be new socialists in every generation. The Communists learned the same lesson, from the other direction, the hard way. The Age of Ideology is over. From now on we deal. Capitalists, of all people, should understand that.

As for "how do we do this in practice?" Well, I think the United States and most European countries have done a pretty good job of walking that line and have done a fine job of balancing these two polarities. Is change necessary? Always. But those who are never satisfied have something else on their mind. Personally, until this bulletin board, I often went for weeks without thinking about left or right, liberal or conservative. It's talking to folks like you that have made me think I was getting too complacent.