In Defense of Individual Rights
www.CapitalismMagazine.com
An Open Letter to Bill Gates
By David Holcberg
The Justice Department committed a grave injustice against you, Bill
Gates. Your crime was to be too ambitious and too successful in a
society
riddled with envy. You were condemned for your ability, which made
you
stand out from the crowd.
The wealth you own is the measure of the wealth you produced. Every
dollar you own was given to you in exchange for a product you
created
and offered in the market. You never pointed a gun at others or used
force
to compel them to buy your products. You set your terms and let them
free to accept them or walk away. The companies and customers that
dealt with you, did so by a voluntary decision based on their own
self-interest.
Speaking for myself, I think I got a bargain from you. I have been
using
Windows for the last six years to learn, work, communicate, travel
and
enjoy my life. All for less than a dime a day!
But the most important thing I want to tell you about, though,
concerns
your motivation and your defense.
Despite what you claim, I don't think you are motivated by the good
of the
consumers, nor do I think you should be. I think you are motivated
by love
for your work and by a passion to use your mind to achieve your
values. As
Howard Roark, from The Fountainhead, said in his courtroom speech,
"The
creator lives for his work. His primary goal is within himself."
I think you are fundamentally an egoist, and you should be proud of
it. An
egoist is a man who values reason, holds his mind as his only guide,
and
has personal happiness as his goal. As Aristotle said, "Pride is the
crown of
all virtues," and you certainly earned the right to wear
it--proudly.
Don't fall gently into the altruist trap of justifying yourself by
the good you
have done for others. You must understand that antitrust is not
about
protecting and benefiting consumers, but about controlling and
harming
successful producers like Microsoft. The problem with anti trust is
not that
it is being misapplied against you, but that it is immoral on
principle. It is
immoral on the grounds that it violates the inalienable individual
rights of
businessmen to their lives.
I long to hear you demand to be left alone, and for the simple
reason that
you have a right to your life, to your freedom, to your property and
to your
happiness. Microsoft is yours-- not Bill Clinton's, or Janet Reno's
or
anybody else's.
You are a creator and a human being, and as such, you need freedom
to
live, to think, to evaluate, and to take action. You can't think or
act or live
by permission. You can't have other people telling you how to run
your
business or what to do with your products--certainly not the
ignoramuses
from Washington.
Government bureaucrats have no right to interfere with your actions,
your
work or your company. You should be a free man. On that principle
and on
that principle alone you should defend yourself. Don't settle with
the thugs
at the Justice Department. Don't help them pretend they are good
people
with good intentions looking after the good of the consumers. Don't
compromise on your principles, or on your right to life and to your
property.
As philosopher Ayn Rand said, "In any compromise between good and
evil,
it is only evil that can profit." Don't collaborate with these evil
people; if
they want to break Microsoft, let them come in with the guns and do
it
themselves; let them figure out how to do it. Above all, don't
sanction the
terrible injustice they are doing against you. It is true they hold
the power
to destroy Microsoft, but they don't hold the power to fake the
nature of
their crime or to silence you.
You have started a revolution in the computer industry that changed
the
world. Maybe you could also start a revolution in the way businesses
are
perceived--by speaking out for your rights. But whatever you do, I
want to
thank you Bill Gates for making my life so much better.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
