I guess I don't understand what you mean. The US can own a bunch of shares of GM and it's still a free market. The jet fuel example is infuriating, but it seem

I guess I don't understand what you mean. The US can own a bunch of shares of GM and it's still a free market. The jet fuel example is infuriating, but it seems more like a monopoly power than some government enforced regulation preventing competition. I guess i don't see how the state is that different than a kid with a REALLY BIG trust fund - at least up to the point of special laws. The post office is an example i'm familiar with. it's a felony to mess with mail, but not a UPS delivered box. I didn't get the sense that any of these state industries enjoyed special enforcement like that- just that they had really deep pockets. Frankly, not all that different from Goldman Sachs. From the example you provided "Social-imperialism" might be a better term to describe the behavior.