Greetings MAV,

The term (Capitalism)is a creature of Marx and I am loath to use it.

What is meant by "capitalism" is "Business" and it can be seen being protested around the world by the little "anarchist" (communist) rent-a-mobs.

I always thought the term predated Marx. Certainly Adam Smith was the first to go into it exhaustively but I haven't been able to trace the etymology on-line other than to find that the root "capital" seems to derive from teh latin for cattle.

Saying that Capitalism is business begs the question a little. Without trying to put words in your mouth, the general thrust of what you have talked about seems to have more in common with mercantilism (the selling of goods) as opposed to capitalism which includes rents and services but also includes concentration of ownership of raw materials and factories (with the implication of concentration of same in a few hands). We can (and in the past have) discussed the implication of various forms of capitalism. If my interpretation is correct, it relates directly to Bush and company.

Bush and his team seem much more supportive of big business (which doesn't usually favor normal working Americans starting companies that might interfere with their profit) and the use of money and contacts to make sure they get bigger. As such, they are more Statist than "pure" capitalists. Certainly Bush's record as a "businessman" is not exactly one a "normal working American" could follow as few of us could get banks to lend us money on the basis of our last name alone, or be offered partnerships in firms on the same basis.

Curiosity (and insomnia) compels me to ask: Is it just Bush's contrast to the mythic social/liberal Democrats that make him so attractive or do you truly see him (and Cheney, O'Neill and the rest) as being interested in normal working Americans in any real sense?

Understand that I'm not trying to imply that the other end of the political spectrum is necessarily in possession of any kind of solution either. I generally tend to view both sides as basically venal and self-serving elitits on an ego trip. "Solutions" from either side always seem to have the same result and end up not helping normal working Americans all that much but doing an awful lot for big business

Regards

John