A good example of how we can prosper without hurting one another, don’t you think?

In any event, the takeover of this land by European settlers was almost inevitable. Think not? Then I suggest you reflect a bit on the nature of the laws that concern the practice of eminent domain and the simple fact the Indians could not defend “their” land.

There is little question that the availability of so much land helped to make the colonists prosperous. Nonetheless, the Spanish colonies to the south also had lots of land and they succeeded reducing the Indian population to slavery or peasant status. Yet in the long run, the Spanish colonies did not prosper. Why success in one place and not the other?

Success requires that we do the right thing the right right way. We rarely do that perfectly. After all, we are only human. However, with respect to government and economics, the English colonists did get closer than most people. Democratic Capitalism is a model that allows individuals to pursue their own goals and to retain the fruits of their labors. It is a system that minimizes government interference. That was the system the colonists chose, and they did a pretty decent job of implementing it — with the exception of slavery. That problem got fixed in the North. In the South, it took longer. Fixing slavery cost over 600,000 lives and left the South an impoverished land of ruins. Yet the South recovered. Amazingly, even without all the “advantages” that attend slavery, in time the South still managed to prosper.

But that’s what it got us in the long run. Remember the breaking of the treaties? How is it Native Americans ended up on reservations while we got our 50+ states?

The slave trade made some colonists very wealthy, though it didn’t do much for the slaves.

I will gladly cite my sources when I’ve got more time, but you’re right. Enslaving people will make more money for some. Do you really think Obama NEEDS the money, though? I doubt it.

Actually, kicking the Indians off their land resulted in some nasty warfare. Got a bunch of people killed — no prosperity in that. I suggest you read about King Phillip’s War, 1675–1676. The Pilgrims and the Puritan settlers definitely were into land theft, but it turned out to be a bloody mess.

The North dropped slavery. The South continued it. At the time the Civil War started, the North was doing just fine. I suppose you could say the Southern Whites were just as prosperous as Northern Whites, but the Black slaves were not doing especially well. However, if you enjoy keeping a wary eye on unruly slaves, I guess that is a good way to live.

Perhaps I should be more open-minded. Bush never did anything right. Undoubtedly, his attempt to deal with the AIDS problem in Africa was also a mess. So why don’t you run your idea past Obama? If you pitch stealing the land and enslaving the population as the kindest possible solution for the AIDS epidemic, he might go along with it. Just make certain you give him a good reason why he should not enslave you (and me too, of course) while you are at it.