Furthermore...

A fundamental flaw in the perception of society has always been that society itself is wealthy, rather than the citizens that make up that society.

For example, the US has long been rumored to have "streets paved with gold" to the poor and down-trodden of Europe and the Far East, for at least the last 150 years. From as long ago as the early 1700's, because grants of land were available to immigrants, the perception has been that the New World was rich. To immigrants from the poorer regions of Europe, the labor needed to clear, plow and sow 10 to 20 acres of land was not all that much more than they were already giving to simply pay their rents to aristocratic landlords... the difference was that the land was now theirs (or would be after 5 years of labor, in the case of Virginia) and the rewards of working those 10 acres are ALL the farmers, where less than 1/7 was towards the farmer's living in Scotland, Ireland, Bohemia, Yorkshire, or Brittany (the rest going for rents and fees). For the same basic agrarian labor output, the return was at least (by my simple math) six times greater... not counting the fact that the land is THEIRS, not some distant, elevated landlord.

This process was slower in Europe than it was here, but once the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, there WERE parts of Europe where success could be found OFF the land. Coventry, Birmingham, Belfast, Edinburgh, Brussells, Hanover, and Cherbourg are all good examples of the regions of Europe where LOCAL labor benefited from the increased wages and opportunity, but where IMMIGRANT labor was taken advantage of. By that same time in the US, the land grants had stopped, and the same process had begun here... local populations in places like New York, Boston, coastal Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania saw industry bring countless new jobs and workers to local businesses, driving prices (and discrimination) UP while the "capitalist" system kept wages artificially low.

This problem was corrected (in most cases) by the WORKERS taking action against unjust labor practices in a COLLECTIVE manner... and thus, the UNION movement was born. Thus, the primary failing of laisses faire capitalism shows itself in the inability of the wealthy owners of industry to manage and regulate their profits in a way that rewards the laborer and builds incentive to provide the labor. Most European and American government's supported this purely profit-driven mode of industry, until such time as unions made a big enough impact on profit. THIS is how the "collective" mentality came into it's own.

Men like Blanc, Marx and Engels put pen to paper and brought the beginnings of "socialism" into the mainstream. Men like Lennin, Trotsky, Kiev, Stalin, and Luxemburg (a woman, I know) did everything in their power to bring that vision into reality... but with NO success. Socialist states HAVE existed, and still do today (obviously, or we wouldn't be discussing this topic)... but "pure socialism" i.e. communism, goes against the very grain of human nature, and thus is perpetually doomed to failure.

Government's role in the lives of everyday citizens should not exceed that of a national regulatory purpose. To regulate the PEACE and SECURITY of a society. To regulate the INDUSTRY and COMMERCE of a nation, so that all people are afforded the same opportunity at employment and success. To regulate and provide for JUSTICE through the enforcement of the RULE OF LAW.

This REGULATION is best achieved (history shows us) through the provision of Government to guaranty as many individual RIGHTS as possible, while limiting as few collective rights as is necessary for the common good of society. This is (in my opinion) the failing of the current Democratic Party platform here in the US.

For example: To guaranty that the RIGHTS of non-Christian citizens are not hindered or limited, it seems to be the determined course of action of the DNC to LIMIT as many Christian expressions of faith as possible, while providing for as many non-Christian expressions of faith as possible. No crosses, creches, Christmas trees, or carols in Lansing, MI for Christians... but everyone gets to hear the Islamic "call to prayer" five times a day over the public broadcast speakers. Public schools in San Diego, CA provide no time or opportunity for children to place their hand over their heart and pledge allegience to "one nation, under God", but ALL classes are interupted so that Muslim kids can hit their knees while facing Mecca.

These are but a few of the examples ANY of us could give of the FAILING of the moto "Majority Rule, Minority Rights". It was not that long ago (some of us are old enough to remember it) that Democrats living in the Deep South fought (literally, FOUGHT) to keep the "rights" of minorities as limited as humanly possible... even where those minorities constituted a popular MAJORITY (Stark County, MS, for example). In fact, the ICON of the Dems, Jack Kennedy, sat in the Oval Office exactly at this time in Americna history... and did very little to correct it. His FIRST priority was to do all in his power to curb SOCIALISM as a global force, and his SECOND priority was to keep a balanced budget and LOWER taxes.

Ironic, huh?

Now, I have focused on the US-side of this sort of discussion. Europe has it's own story to tell, but as that story is all but irrelivant in my eyes while discussing what is best for THIS country, I'll leave that for the likes of Pelosi and Dean to further.