I must express my angst at Ken McCarthy's Jan. 30 letter in which he smears Rick Smith's pro-capitalist views by identifying them with those of conservatives that espouse social Darwinism. Ayn Rand's objectivism is thoroughly incompatible with social Darwinism and socialism alike.

The essence of Mr. Smith's position does not refer to social Darwinism but is contained in his letter where he says, "Why should the rest of us, through the inevitable increase in taxes, be forced to provide heath care for those that are not productive and cannot afford it?" To put it another way: What have I done wrong? What crime have I committed that I must pay for your health care?

As Ayn Rand put it, the fundamental choice that each of us has in dealing with each other is the dollar or the gun. We can deal with each other through voluntary trade, respecting each other's individual rights to their life and property. Or we can act like criminals and steal what we want from others by pointing guns at their heads and threatening to lock them up in jail.

The system that consistently respects individual rights is laissez-faire capitalism, where the government exclusively acts to thwart and punish those who would use force against their fellow men. The system that consistently acts like a criminal and steals at gunpoint from Sally to pay for Jeff's health care is socialism. That's your choice.