Can the people arguing about laissez-faire Capitalism please stop? I wanted to talk about Pinochet, not argue about Economic theory. I realize his economics is part of the case for/against him, but arguing about whether or not Capitalism is "free" or whatever else will go nowhere.
That may be a problem, as that is probably the specific reasons that some posters here support him - he favored extreme lassez-faire capitalism, coupled with brutal repression of dissent.
I suspect many of them want America to follow a similar path - in which those who disagree with their leader are 'traitors', and companies lack regulation which allows much larger profit (though at the expense of the health and safety of others - though they probably imagine themselves as being appointed to one of the 'wealthy elite' in such a situation; just as young socialists often imagine themselves one of the party elite in the comperable scenerio)
To the rest of us, he is a demonstration as to why free markets do not automatically make for a free nation. (socialized markets don't either - the two are independent).
