i think that programming and fear of change run deep. no one wants to change their habits, especially if those habits allow them to be comfortable and on top. I agree with most of what you said here. I think history has taught us the power corrupts, and so any centralized power poses a potential risk. We are a nation founded on checks and balances, yet we are now to a point where corruption is so sever the checks and balances no longer work.

As for capitalism, I will continue to see it as an inherent evil unless "the market" correctly attributes value to finite resources, and addresses the issue of pollution which degrades renewable resources. It is not enough to say everyone is entitle to life, liberty, etc until the level of lifestyle and the cost are defined. I feel that everyone should be entitled to the same level of clean air and water, and that air and water should not be sold for a profit.

Companies did not create water, nor should they be allowed to exploit it for profit. Government does not own land that they should be entitled to rent it out for exploitation and reap the profits. That resource belongs to all people, present and future. Whomever caretakes the land should see that its resources are replenished. If the resource is finite, it should be valued as such, not merely assigned some arbitrary market value. The greed and self interest bred into capitalism has already shown its lack of scruples.