You know ER, it all depends upon the people you hang out with.

I once explained in a long post here that the Marxist epiphany is elevated over the lower level conservative "me first" crowd, and the default ignorance many millions have about anything political or economic in nature. Liberal compassion is a notch up on the ladder and is what most in the educational arena hope to aspire to and wholeheartedly believe is the panacea for the worlds ills.

That many of these folks secretly or openly still live their life looking out for themselves first and foremost is perhaps an uncomfortable realization, but I'm convinced most don't even pursue such self-analysis to any degree as they preach their belief system.

So many Marxists "live like Pharaoh" and see no incongruity whatsoever with their chosen beliefs.

I've noticed that, for many, the richer they become, the more they preach a Marxist philosophy. I've always held the notion such was due to a mixture of guilt and fear of the poor masses, who would be more sympathetic to someone who preached Marxism, even while living as a filthy rich capitalist and enjoying all the benefits of personal wealth only capitalism can provide.

Such hypocrisy is not for me. If you pay close enough attention you know where your bread is buttered. Sure, I could put on the black turtleneck, slip on the Bally shoes, the khaki pants and play the leftist-capitalist role to the hilt. But that's dishonest. And if it's not dishonest - it's not self-aware.

If you have owned your own business, provided incomes to hundreds of individuals and seen them prosper and live well because of your company - you can't go back to the notion that big business or capitalism isn't the real deal for spreading the wealth.

In fact, you'd have to be somewhat of an idiot not to realize this.

If you mingle long enough with the entrepreneur crowd you meet the charlatans - the leftist capitalists - who are too busy feeling guilty about their own greed and so mask it with a big dose of Marxist verbal diarrhea. They can be multi-millionaires, driving Bentleys and living in McMansions and still talk as if they are part of the struggling proletariat or are really working for them and believe such is the best destiny for the world.

Sweet self-delusion or bald-faced lies.

Take your pick.

The smarter ones, the really savvy ones, sing a different song. They know the evils of big business but they long ago figured out capitalism and big business was still the yellow brick road to global prosperity. They will not pretend to believe in something they know is a failure and a global fraud - namely Marxist social economics.

The selfish are everywhere. That selfish people are capitalists and try to screw over others to get ahead doesn't invalidate capitalism. The exact same selfish people exist in Marxist societies and do worse because they have the government and bad propaganda behind them. Russia is a wonderful example of how the lower echelons of humanity prosper in either system and manage to hurt and exploit others.

I've already rambled on here more than I intended. In a nutshell, your friend Bob has simply missed out on talking with some of these savvy folks. That's why he was distressed by your beliefs and background, which he couldn't invalidate or brush off as "one of the enemy".

Some of my own relatives are equally Marxist in outlook, and yet from my position I can see that their chosen careers and friends have isolated them from "getting it".

The folks on the zone here are lucky. Sharing personal views and insight from disparate global venues, income brackets and social classes serves as a "acceleration tool" for forming advanced and much more complex viewpoints.

If one mingles in any crowd, left or right, exclusively - your social and political views will remain static and unsophisticated.

Thanks for sharing.