I like writing because I am one of those people who thinks of the right thing to say hours, weeks or even years, too late. That sucks in day-to-day life, but in writing you can go back and do a rewrite.Also, because I like creating stuff. A story, a painting, drawing, virtual object in a computer, an invention, a doorway, a doggy door, a cake or loaf of bread. The process takes me out of myself as well as reading or watching the tube does. And when I'm done, I have the knowledge that there is something new in the world. Which is kinda cool. Or I have a cake, which is kinda fattening. Historically, I have been a student, a paratrooper, a construction worker, a clerk, a cashier and so on. And for varying reasons, not overly good at any of them. What I never really thought I would be is a writer. Wanted to be, yes. Thought it possible, no. Politically I want to be a libertarian and an anarchist, but I can't. I can't because, as Hamilton pointed out in 1787, you need a balance of powers. It's only competing factions that allow for freedom. And as Adam Smith pointed out, whenever you see two industrialist talking, the safe bet is that they are colluding to fix prices. (Neither of those are exact quotes but they get the jist.)Capitalism works. It's more productive than any controlled economy ever has been or, in my opinion, ever could be. But unrestricted capitalism will destroy itself. I want capitalism to be guided. Not because I hate it, or even distrust it, but because I know it. And because I want to keep it alive and producing for a long, long time.Socially I am a libertarian. I do not believe that any law is a good thing, only that they are sometimes necessary evils. But a necessary evil is still evil. And a law needs to prove it is necessity and keep right on proving that the good it does is greater than the harm it does or it needs to be repealed.While it's counter-intuitive because a government is a structure of laws and restrictions, I believe that government does better when it increases the options of the citizenry than when it decreases them. Not always possible, but when it is it's the better way to go.Gorg HuffRead more about this authorRead less about this author