[CarolinaGuitarman]

" Individual rights are promoted, exercised and protected from a position of strength, not cooperation or weakness. "

No it doesn't. It comes out of a the moral certainty that the initiation of force is always wrong. I doubt you have ever read any of her work.

"As for capitalism, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford and Gates have nothing to do with it. Their empires were built on ruthless monopolistic tactics."

Their businesses were built out of hard work and the willing exchange of goods and services. I am sorry you hate capitalism so much, though not surprised.

"Lives were ruined and businesses destroyed in their lust for power. They were no different in their tactics than Stalin and Pol Pot except the latter killed with violence rather than with banks and lawyers."

No, people's lives were made better, even yours. Gates has forced nobody to use his products, he has no monopoly; that's just a left-wing myth. Your hatred for individual rights and capitalism is out of place here. Your views are more in line with Marx than Adam Smith.

[blue-duncan]

"Gates has forced nobody to use his products, he has no monopoly; that's just a left-wing myth."

You might want to google "Micrsoft Anti Trust" to see how many times it has been sued for anti trust violations and how many settlements it has agreed to with the Justice Department. As much as you decry Anti Trust legislation I haven't seen you complain about Copyright and Trademark laws that give monopoly status to some or the licensing of communications or zoning or safety regulations in transportation, health care, and food services. These are all restrictions on capitalism because of the abuses of the market by I assume men who just wanted to make a profit.

"It comes out of a the moral certainty that the initiation of force is always wrong:

Self esteem, a cardinal principle of Rand's theory, is based on self pride which is a competitive vice; a negative force in relationships.