Okay, you're getting in the weeds. The "pie" references neither collectivist nor personal wealth.....it is a METAPHOR. Yes, the proverbial "pie" is referenced by statists and collectivists as in wanting their piece of it (or ensuring their voters get their piddling piece of it by THEFT) as in the size of it is static, which it is not. When I referenced it above, it's obvious I am talking about how the pie GROWS.

Maybe better would be personal wealth rather than some kind of collective pie as seen by what looks like a majority today.

Fascism is one of the forms of socialism where government, though it does not outright take ownership of business, it directs business operations. Capitalism is the same as freedom of action in business and in ones own economic life.

Look up the history of shale oil. Goes back to ancient times.

That is, if that were possible. In the Soviet Union, when politics did not dictate, there was still excellent math and physics being done by those who were not forced to think. Thinking goes on in many, even if it has to be secretive. When politics tries to direct thinking you get something like Trofim Denisovich Lysenko and his theory of acquired characteristics which set back Soviet biology for many decades. He was not directed into creating the theory, but politics made it the accepted theory. Here, we have for several decades, through several incarnations, the politically accepted climate change non discussion with fear of job loss or funding cut.
Over the fifty years since I first read Atlas Shrugged, I have sometimes thought that the end was near, but even today, for it to come near to conditions in Atlas Shrugged, it is not even close. For the citizen, it is possible to freely do most anything which the government in its great wisdom has not outlawed do to being too dangerous, including loving, frying ones brain with legal drugs and with every known irrationality, eating too much, and every other thing that some still cannot get banned. My recommendation would be for everyone to stop pretending that there is a really essential difference between harm from accidents and from intentional acts. For example, the killing of 20+ children in a school shooting was intentional and considered reason to clamp down on individual rights, while on average weekly the same number of children of the same age group have their lives snuffed out by automobile related accidents without a call to stop the freedom to drive. Death and accidents are just one of the risks for deciding to live one life. Improvements in the rates can be had with thought as in medicine, new ideas, etc. Just do not give up liberty and the free will that goes with it.

I agree. Plus, if this economy is unleashed as was originally intended, some of us might be completely surprised at how big the proverbial "pie" gets.

Whether the dollar is backed by a commodity or not, it is only worth what receiver of the dollar believes it to be worth. It is worth only the promise made by an honest person, just as when you purchase something there is the promise that what you are getting is not some worthless junk. Dollars are worth what you can exchange them for in your own mental comparisons. No different than bartering. Dollars can become worth less, not necessarily worthless, if too many are printed and too few goods and services are available to trade them for.
Earlier you wrote "Our money is worthless in fact now". Why are you still able to exchange it if it is worthless? Kind of a dishonesty there if you are doing a con job on ignorant people by giving them something you know to be worthless for something of worth. Buyer beware is not something to take advantage of with those who do not understand with your great wealth of wisdom.

That is a major premise of mine...what happens if we just Stop doing business with them?
It would be "they", the system, the establishment, the paradigm...,... that would collapse.

Agreed; however, even the things that are going on in Venezuela are not as bad as in AS.

We are not descending into socialism. We are descending into fascism. There has been dicussion about transitioning into a cashless society by eliminating all bill larger than $10. An id numberfor all payment (ss#) is sure to follow. Gold and silver will be illegal.

I'm in the 10% will lay it on the line. Since I don't have the financial resources to promote a revolution, I do have my voice and I can write my thoughts on-line. If Clinton get's elected in November I will add to my firearms. She could lead this nation done the rabbit hole. I don't know if the all the others in the 10% of the population will be able to get together without the govt knowing about it.
Let's say the govt can't meet it's obligation on paying the interest on the debt, the Fed Res keeps manipulating the markets and the bubble that a lot of the financial manager's keep talking about bursts then in the ensuing chaos the conditions will right for the 10%. The other alternative which I believe in is that Secession of the States will occur.

We should look to a slower version of Venezuela to slowly occur over 40 years or so. The govt will restrict any freedoms you have to revolt using the NSA.

We will all fight to keep our lives going. We only have one life to live. But we can either move to somewhere else or just become independent or simply hide in plain sight and not support the establishment.

Our money is worthless in fact now. Imagine if your assets denominated in dollars just weren't there. Business would stop. The government would let you exchange dollars for "new" ones, backed by nothing. Gold would be illegal again. The NSA would tap everything and prevent any organized resistance. The Clinton and their hacks would declare ultimate government power. Rand was right in predicting the crash. It's the only way. Look at how trump is treated fighting the establishment. If he is defeated, who else is ever going to stand up and fight politically again?

The problem is that the US dollar is already bankrupt in fact. It is backed by nothing just like the stock market- and both can crash at any time the trust in the system is lost.

More than halfway. The government is running at a trillion dollar deficit each year already. Not including the federal reserve printings

Just check out Venezuela. When the government spends our wealth in US dollars , the same thing will happen here

The purpose of the NSA is to protect the government

Trump can delay the inevitable result of socialism. But he is our last shot. Look at what he goes through to fight the establishment. If he loses, no one else is going to stand up with their own money and try it again. Like him or not, we need to elect him

Watch. Jericho. On Netflix. To see one scenario

Going to be a long time. A lot of wealth to squander first. I will estimate 40-50 years of continual decline. The NSA will prevent revolution. Socialism works until the other guys money runs out

LOL, since "wealth" isn't a factor for me and safety is becoming "iffy" anyway, where do I sign up?

By the way, since political hacks have destroyed the concept of Sacred Honor, where do the American people go to get theirs back?

"since only 10% of the population participated in the American Revolution,"
I agree. I suspect at least 10% today are still willing to risk our personal wealth and safety for the cause of liberty.

I am certain there will be economic crises, energy crises, and sneak attacks. They've been with us throughout history and will not stop. I'm concerned that the US is complacent. People think Thomas Jefferson and George Washington set up a country based on liberty, and there's no risk whatsoever that it's a 300-year blip that history will view as "the industrial revolution and golden age of personal liberty". I don't think that will happen, but we should have a healthy fear. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, I bet most people didn't think it would become an expression meaning when something is really lost and past the point of getting back.

I'm still optimistic, though, because in many ways we've moved forward in personal liberty. We're much less tolerance of bigotry and violence. We've moved forward in those areas. When the next big human crisis hits, let's say when someone sets off a crude nuclear bomb in DC, and we are ready to turn over all liberty to the gov't, I hope the same impulse that has reduced violence and bigotry will make us not give up freedom.

If Hillary Clinton becomes President, the kleptocracy will become standard. Pay for play will become as ubiquitous as the old policy of baksheesh in the Ottoman empire, an entity we seem to be following into collapse.

Empires collapse from within, but outside events, not infrequently encouraged by the perception of weakness and corruption in the empire, can accelerate the collapse. Russia senses an opportunity to regain a more prominent position on the world stage, convinced the U.S. will always shrink from serious confrontation. China also smells American fear, but is conflicted about endangering its best customer. One driver toward a clash with China is the imbalance between male and female sexes in China, with over four million young men in excess. Such a testosterone driven pool of resources cries out for violent conflict. Battles with China's neighbors, like India and Vietnam may be the outlet, but America can't remain distant from such clashes.

We will remain the primary target for Islamic terrorism, and a Clinton open borders policy will invite a larger population of terrorists to inflict an increasing number of casualties. Even if we successfully stamp out ISIS in the Middle East, there will be a diaspora of experienced terrorist fighters eager for revenge.

Clinton's hawkish attitude, arrogance, and stupidity in foreign relations will leave us further buried in conflict, deeper in debt, and without allies. Even if she does not succeed in implementing all of her policies, civil conflict will grow quickly, possibly leading to martial law and the end to American liberty. A new civil war will be slow to start, given the American public's implied consent to growing government power, but a tipping point toward violence is possible.

Trump is not invulnerable to events out of our control, but he stands a better chance of avoiding catastrophe. Whether he can be effective enough to save the republic is hard to say.