“Why would the cigar chomping caricatures of Capitalism join forces with the caricatures of social planning?”
Look at the origins of communist revolution to see that this is nothing new.
Agreed. Yet people continue to see the struggle - or the battlelines - between Capitalism and Socialism, when instead they can get along quite well... and in fact, are in cahoots.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the real battleline is Globalism (which has every reason to promote multiculturalism and political correctness and immigration and one-size-fits-all) VERSUS the more local and cultural. Only the latter is conservative in any meaningful way.
I’ve come to see that big and invasive government is also a result of big and invasive Capitalism. In any case, it is beyond shocking that a land so blessed as America, blessed with everything, resources, fertile land, science fiction technology, great universities, generous oceans and lakes, should have 1 in 4 kids on foodtsamps and people trampling each other to death in Black Friday sales.
These numbers - even if only half true - are shocking:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/50-economic-numbers-about-us-are-almost-too-crazy-believe
And at this point carping about socialist Europe only goes so far... when there is obviously another source of friction that has caused the destruction of the Middle Class and increased the barbarity of society.
And it is to be found in the unholy alliance of the MSM, Big Finance and Corrupt Govt. Another vision, and one more complicated than the simpler (and at this point resolved) diatribes of Capitalism Vs Socialism.