[NCSteve]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Ironically enough, I think he's actually bent the definition beyond what I would have. When he talks of collectivization, he is really straying into pure Marxist Communism.

I have come to the realization lately that the very wealthiest people in this country have strongly tended toward Marxism over the last couple of decades. When you add into the mix that business is tending away from capitalism and toward corporatism, which is just another form of the collective, Dr. Sowell's point is well taken, regardless of what he calls it.

[Tax-chick]

I have come to the realization lately that the very wealthiest people in this country have strongly tended toward Marxism over the last couple of decades.

Longer than that, I'd say. Look at the Roosevelts. Not Marxists in any consistent sense, but "tending toward" in many ways.

I think a certain sort of people just want to be the boss of others, in every way.

[Mamzelle]

re: I have come to the realization lately that the very wealthiest people in this country have strongly tended toward Marxism))0

I think this is particularly true of the "got rich quick" crowd, particularly any association with entertainment--those who haven't accumulated wealth over time lose the appreciation for its value. Also, when you're very rich there comes with it diminishing returns...what do you buy when you've already bought it all? You've got your mansion, your plane, your squad of flunkies...

It comes down to the will to dominate. I've been around a few of these "got rich quick" types, and they start wanting to tell people what to think, what to do, how to live their lives. In many ways, they are the "theocrats" they claim to have such fear of...only these "theocrats" worship the power of money.

[cinives]

Businesses have been after government subsidies ever since there were corporations and governments. How do you think the railroad barons, for one example, became so rich ? They were given the land for free by the government. The catch ? They put up with regulations by their "masters" the government in exchange for the loot.

Ayn Rand had it nailed.