The Stephens piece was brought to me by a learned friend who also pointed to a December 5th David Brooks opinion piece titled I Was Once a Socialist. Then I Saw How It Worked. Just like his conservative colleague, David Brooks believes in the superiority of the capitalist, free market system and points to the inefficiencies of socialism — even in the lukewarm versions practiced in Western Europe. But, like too many comfortable conservatives, he blindly chooses not to see we’re no longer in a free market economy, we’re in a Winner Take All system where the unshakeable wealth of companies and individuals exerts control over the political and regulatory systems in ways that limit freedom and threaten the physical and emotional well-being of the “commoners”.

Origen: Comparing France and US Systems: NYT Opinionators Wear Blinkers