Some corporate actions are so far beyond the pale, they make defending free-market principles a lot harder than it should be. Take Microsoft. I've long ago stopped using their software, for reasons of cost, reliability and suitability for purpose, as is my right in a free market. I use Ubuntu because it does what I need and the price is competitive. Yet, I've long defended Microsoft. Bill Gates is an almost too-perfect example of the American Dream, and Microsoft has illustrated the power of free markets in all their complexity.

It probably did less to invent the PC, yet more to get a billion of them out there than any other company. It has prospered by being better than anyone else at exploiting ideas and selling them as products. Its annual revenues now run north of $60 billion, and despite a stagnant share price, they're still growing. Respect.