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I am 31 years old.

As far as my reading and open mind, I have read a lot of different things from different political views. I do value honesty, and will read anyone who I think is being honest. One example is one of Bernard Goldberg's books. I read it once because I had nothing else to read. But I felt he was honest in the book - he was conservative, but I thought he wrote well and was self-critical and honest.

Honesty works. The Russian Vladimir Posner said Radio Free Europe was effective because it was not all propaganda but was honest. In RFE they said the US did have problems, but was working on them. Meanwhile Posner said Pravda tended to be more towards propaganda and dishonesty. So RFE was appealing.

I think a more honest left-leaning movie is Germinal. There is a scene where the workers confront the mine owner. In many left-leaning movies, the mine owner would be an evil villain, but in Germinal, he wasn't a bad guy, and he wasn't cutting wages to be some greedy guy. I thought this type of honesty was more effective than the cartoon villian you so often see in left-leaning movies.

I'll grant you, as America's superior model is only as good as the people in it are moral, Capitalism only works when men operating it are moral. The lack of morality and the worship of $$$ is not properly punished by the laws of Capitalism when people in both management and the working class engage in relativism out of purely selfish interests.

Bernard Goldberg's books. I read it once because I had nothing else to read. But I felt he was honest in the book - he was conservative, but I thought he wrote well and was self-critical and honest.

Actually, Bernie Goldberg is likely NOT a conservative (rather, he has probably voted Democrat most of his life) and he takes special pains to be as impeccable and objective in his reseacrch and conclusions as anybody I have ever read. He speaks the same way - - just states the facts and determines the most reasonable conclusions that can be derived from those facts. This, naturally, causes liberals - - especially old media liberals - - to despise him. But their hatred for Bernie doesn't make Bernie a conservative.

In many left-leaning movies, the mine owner would be an evil villain, but in Germinal, he wasn't a bad guy, and he wasn't cutting wages to be some greedy guy. I thought this type of honesty was more effective than the cartoon villian you so often see in left-leaning movies.

You make a good point about the movies; Hollywood seems to be almost incapable of depicting a businessman as anything other than a heartless rapacious villain.

You ought to apply this moment of insight to your own conception of real-life capitalism. What you have said about capitalism makes me think you have internalized the stereotypical media image of the "spatted and top-hatted" robber baron of the 1890's. Much of what the public perceives as the injustice of capitalism actually should be considered anti-free-market interference by the government and government-sanctioned monopolies.

I am a proud capitalist. My partners and I have risked our personal funds and credit to start an enterprise that now employs 250 people. Our employees make a nice living and enjoy good benefits. They are highly trained professionals who could work anywhere, and we have to offer them good terms of employment, or we would soon be out of business. We pay their salaries first, along with all of our other bills. We only keep what's left over at the end of the month. It is not unheard of for us to make less than our highest-paid employees, while working longer hours. I am proud that my business provides 250 people with an excellent job and puts food on 250 tables every day. I feel strongly that no government paper-pusher in the history of mankind has done as much tangible good for society as I do every day.

-ccm