"The reality is that conservatives have been quite actively using the power of the government to shape market outcomes in ways that redistribute income upward. However, conservatives have been clever enough to not own up to their role in this process, pretending all along that everything is just the natural working of the market."

lee, if you actually take the time to read this man's book, you will see that he is essentially agreeing with the libertarian program. what he's pointing out is that the conservative mouthpieces have managed to reframe the debate so that they get to do for free what they accuse the "collectivists" of doing: manipulating the power of government for their own purposes.

of course, it goes without saying the government interferes with the free market, but those interferences were PUT IN PLACE by big business because it was more profitable than actually competing in a true free market. read his chapter on corporations, he points out how the corporation has nothing to do with free enterprise, it is a mechanism which allows the stockholders to protect themselves from the full consequences of bad business decisions: bankruptcy and litigation. corporations are not just partnerships, they cannot even exist without a specific government charter and a legal structure that shields them from the damage they can inflict on society.

this is not a debate between free marketeers and socialists, as much as they would like to convince you it is. it is a debate between those who are ready to take their chances in a free market and those who feel the market is just an obstacle to their uninterrupted and risk-free accumulation of profit. how do you think "big government" got so big? lobbying by welfare mothers and the homeless? commie legislators? no, big governmet was invented and implemented by the corporate elite, the finance capitalist class. it is what happens when economic power has access to the election and legislative processes. it is not the enemy of finance capital, it is its main tool.