Just starting into BCoF

Ok, so school is now over and I actually am trying to get some time to catch up on a few things...one of which is this daunting 900 page book.... ahhhh. Anyhow, I just started it today and figure if I can get through a chapter a day, I ought to finish before end of June. Some thoughts on today's reading though....interesting. It took me back to my AP American History class from high school with Claudia Wright (yes, Democratic candidate for Utah). At any rate, I remember talking all about the rise of the US as a power in the mid 1800s....with northern factories, railroads, education, population growth, etc. Wow, good review of that all. What I did think was interesting though, that I hadn't really thought about was Thomas Jefferson's views about the essence of liberty as independence...and that a man dependent on others for a living could never be truly free, nor could a dependent class constitute the basis of a republican government. Hmmmm....That is why Jefferson feared the development of industrial capitalism. Isn't it ironic that all of us going on this seminar are dependent on others for our employment, and therefore are not really free, yet with that employment (thank goodness I still have mine in this economy) I have my freedoms and opportunities. ?? Maybe that is a simple-minded or maybe even confused thought/perspective....but I had never really thought about it until reading his view. Just a thought anyhow......