Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 63 (9161 total)
1 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,585 Year: 2,842/9,624 Month: 687/1,588 Week: 93/229 Day: 4/61 Hour: 0/0


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Political Identity Crisis
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 153 (281402)
01-25-2006 1:36 AM


I've been having trouble lately with pinning down my political identity. One thing i'm sure of is that i'm a civil libertarian, but that only takes care of the social issues. When it comes to economics, I tend to drift back and forth between socialist and libertarian. I understand the reasoning behind economic libertarianism, but it's sometehing I have doubts about. Likewise with socialism.
I'm not sure if there is a way to bring my socialist tendencies together with the individualism of the libertarian view. The conflict between the two seem to be irreconcilable, but maybe someone can help me with that.
Have any of you gone through a period where you struggled with this? If so, how did you ultimately arrive at a point of clarity?

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Adminnemooseus, posted 01-25-2006 1:46 AM Madfish has replied
 Message 5 by nwr, posted 01-25-2006 7:54 AM Madfish has replied
 Message 8 by Chiroptera, posted 01-25-2006 12:51 PM Madfish has not replied
 Message 10 by crashfrog, posted 01-25-2006 4:48 PM Madfish has replied
 Message 11 by randman, posted 01-25-2006 5:04 PM Madfish has not replied

  
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 4 of 153 (281410)
01-25-2006 2:11 AM
Reply to: Message 2 by Adminnemooseus
01-25-2006 1:46 AM


Re: Needs some sort of shot at George W. Bush before can be promoted.
Well, my political beliefs, no matter how ill-defined, are in direct opposition to everything George W. Bush stands for. Any and all shots at him are implied.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Adminnemooseus, posted 01-25-2006 1:46 AM Adminnemooseus has not replied

  
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 17 of 153 (281585)
01-25-2006 8:33 PM
Reply to: Message 5 by nwr
01-25-2006 7:54 AM


Re: Why pin it down?
quote:
Why do you need to choose a label? How about just considering yourself an independent, and voting on each issue and each candidate on the merits?
  —"nwr"
Well, the label itself isn't important. When it comes to actually voting on each issue and candidate, I plan to do as you say. I plan to register as an independent.
quote:
For myself, I don't think libertarianism works. It seems to be based on a romanticized idea about people that does not correspond to the way people really behave.
  —"nwr"
This is the biggest problem I have with libertarianism. It just seems out of touch with reality in some aspects. Beyond the issue of civil rights, I don't find much agreement within that framework.
I must say, however, that socialism presents some problems of it's own, which you pointed out.
Edit: I can see now that I was looking at socialism purely from the view of the state, which I thought was somewhat neccesary. It appears that isn't the case, so it was a misunderstanding on my part.
This message has been edited by Madfish, 01-25-2006 08:34 PM
This message has been edited by Madfish, 01-25-2006 08:34 PM
This message has been edited by Madfish, 01-25-2006 08:35 PM
This message has been edited by Madfish, 01-25-2006 08:36 PM
This message has been edited by Madfish, 01-25-2006 09:24 PM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5 by nwr, posted 01-25-2006 7:54 AM nwr has seen this message but not replied

  
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 20 of 153 (281592)
01-25-2006 9:23 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by Wounded King
01-25-2006 10:40 AM


Political Compass
Thanks for the link. Filled it out and the results were
Economic Left/Right: - 7.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: - 7.95
I'm in the libertarian left and seem to favor "voluntary regional collectivism" according to the chart. Seems about right to me. Maybe there wasn't as big a conflict as I thought.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by Wounded King, posted 01-25-2006 10:40 AM Wounded King has not replied

  
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 21 of 153 (281594)
01-25-2006 9:30 PM
Reply to: Message 10 by crashfrog
01-25-2006 4:48 PM


Well, as far as the current political landscape goes, i'll be backing the Democrats as the lesser of two evils. I'm open to voting for a Republican candidate, but they would have to be pretty different from the current status quo.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 10 by crashfrog, posted 01-25-2006 4:48 PM crashfrog has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 22 by Asgara, posted 01-25-2006 9:36 PM Madfish has not replied
 Message 23 by nwr, posted 01-25-2006 9:40 PM Madfish has not replied
 Message 30 by macaroniandcheese, posted 01-26-2006 10:50 AM Madfish has not replied

  
Madfish
Inactive Member


Message 114 of 153 (283533)
02-02-2006 7:46 PM
Reply to: Message 111 by Chiroptera
02-01-2006 12:44 PM


No, not really.
But it's ok, I think i've sorted it out for myself.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 111 by Chiroptera, posted 02-01-2006 12:44 PM Chiroptera has not replied

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024