Ken, I often find myself agreeing with you, and I respect your intellect, but on this I strongly disagree. Progressive taxes are socialistic, of course so are any income taxes but if you're going to tax it must be fair across the board. Capital gains are a different animal, and progressives know this. We simply don't have the same skin in the game. The risk is taken by the investor. Though should I invest enough, than it is likely paying its fair share in opportunity that otherwise may not have existed.
Sure, none of us so directly choose success over failure, but our actions over time lead to mathematical probabilities of success over failure when combined with understanding a desired market. While many of us choose to be construction workers, sales clerks, IT specialists, and what have you, without people investing in that infrastructure, those jobs may not exist.