maester_millerCSA,
Sort of off-topic here, but whenever anyone hits me with “private ownership of the means of production” I always feel compelled to demand they answer: Can you really be said to “own” something when some external force that you have virtually no influence on can dictate to you all of the following:
Who you may hire (and who you can’t)
What products and services you may provide (and what you can’t)
What facilities you must have on site, and how they must be constructed
Who your customers may be (and who they can’t)
And of course, the same external force reserves the right to keep as much of your profit for themselves as it decides to in any particular year.
If you violate any of their dictates, they will shut you down and forbid you from engaging in trade, and maybe even imprison you.
The word “ownership” has little to no meaning in modern society. For my money, no private individuals own anything anymore. The state owns it all, and allows us to keep some of it. We have socialism in everything but the name.