Everyone wants magic, wants it free, and don't bother us with the
> details. =A0Government, in the business of pleasing people, is more than
> happy to oblige...politicians of both parties *love* to spend money on
> their constituents, no matter what the cause.
What the hell kind of country would this be if you could not steal from your neighbors legally?
I especially like the last sentence:
"To the intellectual the social device of capitalism offers a displeasing picture. Why? In his own terms, here are self-seeking men in quest of personal aggran- dizement. How? By providing consumers with things they want or can be induced to want. The same intellectual, puzzlingly, is not shocked by the workings of hedonist democracy; here also self-seeking men accomplish their aggrandizement by promising to other men things they want or are induced to demand. The difference seems to lie mainly in that the capitalist delivers the goods." --Bertrand de Jouvenel, _Treatment of Capitalism by Intellectuals_