Broadly speaking, how would you describe your political beliefs?
As simple yet complicated a question as you’ll ever find. Where do you generally lie on political issues? Do you lean left or right economically? Liberal or authoritarian? Do your views tend to be swayed heavily from the norm on certain matters? Why do you hold these views? Etc.
Now just to make this clear, though polite debate, I’m neither wanting, nor attempting to instigate aggressive arguments here, so I would appreciate if people be respectful of others beliefs. I like to believe that in a community as sensible as Fluther this would be a reasonable request.
I’ll get the ball rolling. From an economic perspective I typically refer to myself as ‘radical centre’, but this is more a courteous way of saying ‘fluctuating’. I typically approach economic issues on a case-by-case basis, believing that the areas and amounts of resources involved, and the current status of the society, culture and resources should be considered among other things. With this said, I do lean heavily left on education and healthcare believing these should be centrally funded. I also fall slightly right on private industry, depending on the industry.
From a social perspective I’m a shameless liberalist. I take a very ‘innocent until proven guilty’ approach to individual rights in that I think civil and political freedoms should be a given unless strong arguments and evidence can be provided which proves them to be overall more detrimental than beneficial to a society. It should be noted that this isn’t by any means impossible.
It’ll be interesting to observe how people differ in their political perspectives relative to where they live.
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33 Answers
I lean left but with a high suspicion of most political parties and politicians.
Socially liberal, fiscally moderate.
Apathetic just about covers it.
Registered unaffiliated (no party preference).
Slightly right of center both economically and socially.
Independent. Both parties suck hard.
Pragmatic, empathetic and caring.
I believe the premises of politics are the conclusions of ethics and my political views tend to the left.
I suddenly feel like I may have rambled on. I am grateful for the great mix of views though.
@Nially_Bob I think my political views are almost identical to yours. Soclally very liberal. Financially more central, leaning left on issues of healthcare and education, and leaning more to the right on business/economic issues.
The closest descriptor of my beliefs would probably be “classical liberal.” I’m very, very anti-authoritarian, socially liberal (I believe in legalizing pretty much everything because prohibition is demonstrably ineffective), economically conservative, and somewhat cynical given there are no viable candidates that even come close to mirroring my views. I’m also capable of easily getting along with people who self-describe as liberal or conservative as long as they don’t start slinging shit. I should probably mention that the one thing I don’t tolerate is hyperbole or extreme whininess. No, Romney/Obama/BaneCapital/ACLU is not literally Hitler, and no the world isnt going to end if your favorite candidate doesn’t get elected.
I’m a right leaning independant. Except when it comes to taxes. Then I am a rarity in this country. I believe that unless we raise taxes, we are going to default on our national debt and we are going to be screwed. We can’t keep lowering taxes and raising spending.
Strong rationalist where my views tend to fall largely, and far, into the liberal/socialist fields, though the occasional marxist/capitalist/conservative opinion does pop up.
In the United States I am considered a Flaming Liberal.
Where I live (San Francisco Bay Area) I am considered a moderate.
Generally a liberal Democrat, but fast tracking to complete cynic. It’s all a game based on greed and ‘what’s in it for me?’ Where’s the true compassion and practicality?
Green-anarchist, indigenist, revolutionary.
Independent, fiscally conservative, socially liberal, depending on the topic. Environmentally conservative, (yes conservative means conservation of the environment in my book).
I’m sick of the whole mess. I’d like to throw most of them out and start over with real people, who don’t owe favors.
I could have written @wilma‘s response (but probably not as well). Yup. Let’s start over. My fiscal and social leanings are sometimes at odds, and I tend to favor the social liberal side in those situations. But I truly am angry with the current state of affairs.
Well they say that if you’re not a liberal when you are young than you likely don’t have a heart, but if you’re not a conservative by mid-life, than you likely don’t have a brain (or something like that). Ironically I’ve done the opposite, I’ve became more liberal with age even though I was never a hardcore conservative. I guess this means that I’ve lost my mind.
I consider myself a ‘fluctuationist’ (yeah I made that word up), because I think that political policies may need to shift at certain times for the betterment of society. There are times where I think that conservative economic policies would be the best response, while at other times I believe that liberal economic policies may be the best response. I’ve changed my stance on some social issues as well. I oppose rigidness, and I tend these days to support candidates who are willing to compromise with other politicians in the best interest of us all.
I’m not a fan of either left or right wing agenda, at least in a hardcore sense. Personally I don’t feel that many right wing puppet masters have the best interests of their supporters in mind. At the same time I don’t feel that many left wing puppet masters have the best interests of their followers in mind either many times (as history has shown). I guess that I’ve shifted from libertarian (with the small ‘l’) to an independent who is currently just left of center. I used to be just right of center.
I’m so far left on many reputable tests that I come out socialist.
I am a conservative liberal republican democrat with an independent bent.
I am a moderate. Fiscally conservative, pro-abortion, pro-gay rights. I believe in Teddy Roosevelt’s big stick policy.
Progressive, with a long-range view that insists that methods of supporting everyone are sustainable and responsible. Kinda like the Iroquois, looking to the effects on the seventh generation down the road.
On the social end, I am overly liberal. I feel that I (and you too) should be allowed to do as we please as long as it does not interfere with those who do not want to be involved. The best example is the old “my right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins”. I also believe the purpose of gov. is to level the playing field and basically protect me from you and you from me and us from them and them from us. I do not feel they should protect me from myself however.
Fiscally, probably on the conservative end. I do not believe we should be spending more than we earn either as individuals or as a country. I think we should spend more on ourselves and less on foreign aid and military ventures to secure more for those who have enough. I believe that the rich should pay a larger percentage of their earning into supporting the country that provides the means of them getting wealthy since they are getting more out of it but I also believe that everyone should contribute their share. I believe that business should be regulated more, not less, until they can show a higher moral leaning than just increasing the bottom line for the few stockholders.
Seems like a majority consider themselves socially lib and fiscally conservative. Is this just a fluther phenom or is this a national trend do you think? Why do we not have a party that reflects these view?
@rojo Why do we not have a party that reflects these view?
I have been wondering that same thing my whole life.
As have I. I don’t like that the US congress is so quick to do things that benifit themselves, such as lifetime health insurance for themselves while deciding that national health insurance is a bad thing for the rest of us. Now that congress and all US elected officials of all political parties are becoming so antagonistic, things will only get worse.
“Why do we not have a party that reflects these view?” Damn good question.
I point to two factors, the media and campaign finance.
During the Democratic primaries in 2000, if you took all the poll results about what citizens want in the U.S., and compared that to the policies advocated by the candidates, Dennis Kucinich would have been the Democratic candidate by a large margin. Yet the media at best treated him as an eccentric, and usually as a lunatic. The candidates who get positive coverage by the corporate media are corporatists.
To get elected these days you have to appeal to the corporate media and you have to raise giant piles of cash to mount an election campaign. That cash comes from corporations and their executives. The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court is one of the biggest blows to democracy I can think of.
I’m a resident of Ohio, and I love Kusinich. He is a symbol of what congress does correctly. Like @dabbler mentioned he is portrayed as eccentric, instead of what our congress is elected to be.
Having a good balance between individual responsibility and the responsibility of the community for everyone in the community.
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