Arjay, why fear "fast approaching nine billion", why not the "currently here 6.5 billion" or the "rumoured possible ten billion"? Posing bogeymen is an exhausting way to motivate people (look how hard Howard & fellow war criminals have to beat the terrorism drum).

Your valid criticisms of over-regulation are marred by inaccurate claims about job creation and 'socialism' - Socialism!! We've privatised the banks, the trains, the trams, the power, the gas, the phones, healthcare and education; the army and Canberra are about the only things left (and with 25,000+ mercanaries working in Iraq, arguably we've already privatised our wars).

The only socialism is middle class welfare: capital gains tax concessions, negative gearing, private health insurance subsidy, private schools subsidies. Not socialism really, more a straight transaction - Howard has bought off middle Australia.

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untutored mind: a commentbot is an automated script that writes spam to blogs & discussion boards. Your frequency of large words and somewhat broken grammer provoked my intemperate description, and i apologise. Rereading your text, i can wholeheartedly endorse the insight behind "So presumably competition will be more about appropriation of resource than natural advantage. So the WTO and all other such might just as well resile from any pretence, hardly credible anyway, of fairer distribution, of a larger whole." Indeed yes, gaining control over resources is more important than natural advantages for individuals and nations, particularly with the latter because so many nations have exhausted their natural advantages.

Liam,we presently have middle class socialism of the Educated elite.The last 35 yrs has been about getting a degree and a cushy Govt job.In the early fifties income tax was just 11%,today we have more taxes and bureaucracies conceived beyond anyone's wildest imagination and for what result?

The future fund of $140 billion is solely for the superannuation of commonwealth public servants because of past mal-administration.We hear today that $400 million has been wasted on choppers that don't fly,not to mention Beasley's Colins Class Subs loss of $5 billion.

The more tax they get,the more they seem to waste.We 700,000 on DSP 540,000 on the dole,and 330,000 single parents,with only 10 million in the work force.Now many of those 10 million are only able to get part time jobs.15% of people of working age are being supported full time by the tax payer.

Now you are telling me, that we do not live in a socialist's state?

Since governments in the west have moved more to the right - everyone has simply become more self-serving - looking after their own interests. Politicians impose globalisation when it suits big business - but refuse to look at the whole thing when considering trade impacts on all peoples. A change of attitude in Western leadership - or a regime change to leaders who already have the right attitude is what is really required. Who wants to listen to several years of drivel as the current set drag it out, make themselves look oh so important and use evasive/avoidance language when quesioned about such issues.