An irrational left cannot stop robber barons.

It was Adam Smith, the Father of Economics, who recognised that all business fellows are out to exploit consumers for their own profit when he wrote way back in 1776," It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." In other words it is competition that keeps them honest and they are always looking to create monopolies. That is how the robber barons of the past, such as John D Rockefeller and co, became wealthy just as Google, Apple and Facebook control over 90% of the market in their own areas today. Of course, it is always for our benefit as Mr Mark Zuckerberg explained in his article on Internet.org and net neutrality. Innocent suckers that we are, we need to be protected from being looted by the bandits. But by whom? The leftists and liberals rail against capitalism without suggesting any alternative. The trouble is that they do not learn from history or from events in other countries. They keep repeating the tired old mantra of taxing the rich and distributing to the poor which has not worked before and will not work ever. Every country needs investments for its economy to grow so there is competition in attracting the rich by keeping tax rates low. If the rate of tax is too high the wealthy will move to where it is lower. Years of handouts by Hugo Chavez has reduced Venezuela, with the largest oil reserves in the world, into an economic basket case. Even worse, leftists come across as imbeciles when they write that " human need can and should be limited ". Limited to what? Should we give up houses, cars and planes and go back to living in huts and travelling by bullock carts while singing happy old Hindi movie songs? Perhaps, we should give up shoes and walk barefoot. The Communist Party, or CPM, is fast withering away in India. Its share of votes in its once stronghold of West Bengal shrank from 50% in 2006 to 30% in 2014 and nationally it could manage a dismal 3.2% of votes in the 93 seats it contested. In Bengal it destroyed its base by destroying labor intensive industries and the growth in our economy has reduced poverty to 22% of the population. With TVs in every home and internet on mobile young people do not want to live in huts and travel on bullock carts. They want to shop in air conditioned malls, buy branded products and enjoy exotic holidays. The present controversy regarding amendments to the Land Acquisition Act is a typical example. A farmer hanged himself during a political rally in Delhi but the Chief Minister continued with his speech. Every politician is shamelessly exploiting this tragedy by lying. The man killed himself because his crop was destroyed by recent rains, not in protest against the Act. Has anyone asked farmers whether they want their children to continue in farming or whether they would rather sell their land and see their children working for salaries? There will be no need for liberals if there are no poor. Is that why they want to perpetuate poverty?