Pardon me, I didn't know it was a politically-loaded term these days. I meant it as a more general term the way people would make the broad statement that "Eastern societies are more collectivist, and Western societies are more individualist." More responsibility to the group, with the associated pros and cons of that.

I was making the point to the original poster who said HN has a conservative lean. My point was you're going to tend to see more individualistic people on the whole here, and more individualistic people tend to dislike the government having a larger role in their lives. That's true on the whole in my experience, but certainly not for everyone.

Anyway, thanks for pointing that out. I'm just here for good discussion and the free cookies, not to push any emotional buttons or tar people I respect with a single political brush :)

Every time people write sentences that start with "Hackers tend to" and involve "the government", I throw up a little in my mouth. You could use the same logic about "individualist hackers" to argue against gun control. But then you'd be Eric Raymond.

Hackers are people who like to build things. That's all. They don't all think like you. Some of our country's greatest entrepreneurs are also its strongest believers in the social safety net. You might consider starting with Warren Buffett.

No worries, I feel like I've learned an important lesson here about generalizing. For the record, you don't need to talk about being tarred, throwing up in your mouth, for me to get your point - but it does get across that how you feel about this. I'll be more careful about broad generalizations going forwards, and best wishes.

Sokay. You're being nicer than I am at this point.