Ruling class vs. Tobacco

 Nice comments in support of “America’s Ruling Class – And the Perils of Revolution,” 

The description below pretty much sums up why those in government pile on the smoking bans along with high tobacco taxes.  I can hear them now: "Smoking is bad for the peasants - we must protect them from themselves."

A Splendid Essay on the Two Great Classes in Contemporary America

"Members of the two classes do not like one another. In particular, the ruling class views the rest of the population as composed of ignoramuses who are vicious, violent, racist, religious, irrational, unscientific, backward, generally ill-behaved, and incapable of living well without constant, detailed direction by our betters; and it views itself as perfectly qualified and entitled to pound us into better shape by the generous application of laws, taxes, subsidies, regulations, and unceasing declarations of its dedication to bringing the country—and indeed the entire world—out of its present darkness and into the light of the Brave New World it is busily engineering."     - Robert Higgs, The Beacon Blog