Rob, the sinfulness (or inadvisability, for the seculars out there) of envy has nothing to do with capitalism, the profit motive, or the free market. The Hebrew word used in the Ten Commandments in ?hamad,? which in context should be interpreted as meaning ?wrongfully desiring and trying to acquire.? In the New Testament, Jesus Christ paraphrases the commandment as ?do not defraud.?

I know this isn?t a religious discussion, but it is a moral one, though often advocates of government redistribution resist thinking about it in those terms. That?s the problem with social critics such as Bill Moyers, who exhibit no understanding of the difference between obtaining wealth by entrepreneurial effort, creativity, and hard work or obtaining it by force or fraud. It isn?t class welfare for Bill Gates to become a billionaire by helping to bring to market a product to sell to average folks. If the product solves our problems and makes our lives better, then his remuneration is earned. Warfare involves taking by force what you didn?t earn by lawful means.

I?ll agree with you somewhat on the landless-peasant example. Landlords had often obtained their property through seizures, land grants from tyrants, and just out-and-out fraud and villainy. Similarly, some ?robber barons? of the 19th century really were robbers, like those who profited from government railroad subsidies. But most were not, and are not.

Let?s talk about the politics for a moment. You and I are both examples of deviation from the norm in politics. That is, our views are more-or-less systematic and consistent, though of course mutually inconsistent on this subject. Most Americans hold a mixture of views about issues such as wealth, the economy, and government policy. The mixture can be hard to summarize. The polling expert Karlyn Bowman once put it this way: ?Americans don?t resent the rich nor do they particularly admire them.? Here are some poll findings worth pondering:

? 60 percent say ?I am better off than my parents were at the same time in their lives,? vs. 25 percent who say about the same and only 13 percent who say worse off. About two-thirds also say their children will be better off than they are, only 6 percent say their children will be worse off (Gallup, 2003).

? 70 percent of Americans say it is still possible to start out poor in this country, work hard, and become rich (CBS News/NYT, 2003).

? Only 13 percent say the American Dream ?is not really alive? today (Roper, 2000).

And, yes, I still stand by the column I wrote back in February to which you responded with your Policy Brief. My points remain salient. And you remain saddled with the need to advance a depressing proposition about the lives of average Americans that conflicts with what they themselves experience and believe.