After I've nailed my colours to the mast, looked at my achilles heel, and gone down to the wire, I will unmix my metaphors.....

A civilized society tries to prevent things coming down to the wire, where self-preservation is the only goal. But even in concentration camps, people will sacrifice themselves for others. There are examples all around us of people refusing to be obsessed about "Number 1". Many people organize their lives quite happily around others -- children, lovers, parents, larger social goals -- without losing themselves or their self-respect. All this Number 1 nonsense is what I mean about the poison of libertarian markets. The opposite is also poison: the individual should be sacrificed for the good of everyone else. It is a balancing act. That is why it is complicated, and why many people loathe it.

yours,

Peter T.