You insist on vigorously defending a position Hank never attacked, TB. He's not extolling the virtues of government over private enterprise, in fact, it seems to me he doesn't see much difference between the two any more than I do. You seem incapable of getting to the root of this problem, it is not political or ideological, it has nothing to do with some imaginary conflict you have created between government and business. It's not that you have the wrong side. You've been conned into fighting the wrong war.

The conflict is psychological, and social. It is between people who want to learn how to do something that is useful to their fellow man, and those who want to be in charge of an organization that controls and channels the labor of others. Big business, big government, big labor, what's the bloody difference? When you've worked for all of them like I have you'll realize there is none. The players are all interchangeable. The environment is indistinguishable. The conflict is between those who want their labor directed towards solving human problems and those who wish to direct and exploit the labor of others for the aggrandizement of their careers.

This ain't about capitalists versus communists or collectivists versus individualists. It's about workers vs bosses, professionals versus careerists. I've hesitated in framing it in those terms because I feared (and still do) that you will never be able to see the great truth that is lurking concealed behind that admittedly oversimplified analogy.

On one of my first posts on this board I talked about Us vs Them. I mentioned college vs high school, office vs shop, blue vs white collar, ownner vs renter, officer vs enlisted. You never got it then, and you still don't get it. You're still fighting a nineteenth century battle, TB, and no matter who wins, you'll wind up on the losing side. It's been staring you in the face all your life and you've refused to see it.

Remember the Ayn Rand architect hero who blew up the building he designed because he didn't like the modifications the owner made to it? The owner, TB. He blew up the OWNER'S building. You're a worker, TB, not an owner. It's why I never gave up on you.