Stops abuses, monopolization, etc. Sounds counter productive, but what isn't? It's rarely as simple as laissez faire/communism.

Capitalism is getting [&@%!] without proper regulation, yes.

The one good thing about privatization is competition. If the government is the sole provider of anything it will cost more than if there are companies competing for customers. Competition drives down prices and pushes innovation. Monopolization leads to stagnation. And if this brief revelation causes heart palpitations, then this information might spur re-creation.

With capitalism it comes down to a central control. Same thing with schools. Easier to control a large set of people when everyone learns to think the same way.

Something like that.

Well, let's see if we can raise a collective 'yay' for democracy!

Yay!

I believe you're thinking of something else. Capitalism is an economic policy, not governmental.

do we have to acknowledge the annoying parts of democracy too?

Capitalism is the counterpart of communism, and that sure as hell doesn't happen without a government.

Finally, as a hippie-dippie environmentalist and proud Segway owner, I never use roads. Why should I pay for something I never use? Should I send you my next restaurant bill?

Furthermore, I would like to point out that our huge network of roads led directly to a massive increase in automobiles and gas consumption.

If I'd rather freeball it and keep my cash, why stop me?

Close, Music. We're a mix of both. We leave most of the day-to-day affairs to the congressmen, but we have the power to vote on the important issues (and, theoretically, just about anything else we want to vote on) ourselves.

Actually, the United States is a Representative Republic, not a true Democracy.

We are more a Representative Republic than we are a Democracy. Our laws are not passed by a majority vote of the people, but by representatives chosen by the people. Even our President is not chosen by a direct vote of the people. This was clearly demonstrated in the 2000 election in which Al Gore won the majority vote but George W. Bush won more electoral college votes and thus the presidency. We have the option of taking things to a simple majority vote of the people, such as with Constitutional Amendments, but that very rarely happens, so to say we are a mix of both, to me, is misstating the truth. We could be a mix of both, but 99.9% of the time we are a Representative Republic.

When I say Democracy, I'm referring to a direct democracy, the original form of the system where everyone had an equal say in everything that was done. The United States is not a direct democracy.

We have key traits of a direct democracy, but we elect to leave most of the decisions to people we delegate.

This is what I said several posts ago. We are in agreement except on terminology.

Representative Democracy. Better?

Actually, the United States is a Representative Republic, not a true Democracy.

When I say Democracy, I'm referring to a direct democracy, the original form of the system where everyone had an equal say in everything that was done. The United States is not a direct democracy.