Yes, a good assessment. I did not intend on coming across as very snarky before, by the way.

I believe you are right about people being convinced and *demand* being met. I recall a story from last year about a local municipal worker in some midsized town quietely keeping fluoride levels in the town's water supply to a very low level. He did this for something like a decade before it was discovered. Super based, but there were locals who got very upset about it.

My commentary was a little less about the motives of those who push high fluoridation and more about the broader context. This issue only arises in a post-industrialized world, where households don't know where their water, food, or energy come from. Where big, fiat-funded bureaucratic agencies make decisions and policies for *public health* from on high and detached from locales. 

There are many people in power that benefit from a populace that is fat, sick, dumb, and dependent. But there are also just bureaucrats maintaining status quo. I think the fluoride issue is just one of a great many issues that this is true for. 

Anyway, I could say more, but I'll reiterate that you make fine points and I too am a big fan of free market capitalism, despite the shortcomings.  

 You make fine points as well. Zero snark detected in your earlier comment. We are aligned on the post-industrial dynamics around “public health” 

And that local municipal worker dialing back the fluoride… not all heroes wear capes.