What is your political alignment?

What is your political alignment? Not asking for the exact reason why just curious to see how the doomworld community stands as a whole. To prevent misunderstandings the terms used mean the fallowing (at least in my view):

Conservative: Favor a socially conservative world view (favor tradition, avoid things that are bad for you, don't treat sex lightly etc).

Liberal: Favor a socially liberal world view (it's ok to sleep around, eat shit food, use drugs etc).

Libertarian: Believe the state should stay out of peoples lives and let the individual create his own world view (note that this is not the same thing as hating/loving a certain world view, it merely is the idea that the state doesn't tell you or others what to do).

Big government: Believes in large amounts of state intervention in the economy (high taxes and government spending, social programs etc).

Small government: Believes state intervention in the economy should be limited (low taxes, limited social programs and spending etc).

Because politics and social issues are complex, it is actually possible to be many of those things at the same time. A couple of examples:

Small government conservative libertarian: Believes that state intervention in the economy should be limited, believes in a socially conservative world view, but that the state should still not actually have any say over what people believe or do (such a person could for example, want low taxes, live a very conservative and a religious lifestyle, but be against the the idea that the state should force others to do the same).

Big government conservative: Believes in heavy state intervention in the economy and that the state should maintain morals which the people are then expected to uphold.

Big government liberal: Believes in state intervention in the economy and social liberalism.

Basically all kinds of whacky combinations are possible (it's why the old Left Vs Right thing no longer really works properly as a way of judging other peoples political views).

What is your alignment?

No isms, alignments, group thought subscription or doctrines of ethical, fiscal or social ideologies what-so-ever. It's a completely contrived delusion.

Something tells me that your poll's options don't exactly capture all of the political spectrum. They are also quite unusual and hard to distinguish from one another. E.g. no traditional left/center/right alignments?

Unless "big government" is a stand-in for "left", "center-left" or "center". The use of "liberal" as a stand-in for "left" (is that correct?) is also confusing (at least to non-USA citizens), as in Europe "liberal" usually is associated with conservative right and US-type imperialism.

In any way, it's too limited and confusing a poll for me to answer it.

Ed said:

No isms, alignments, group thought subscription or doctrines of ethical, fiscal or social ideologies what-so-ever. It's a completely contrived delusion.

Fully agree with you Ed. No matter who is in charge and what kind of government it is, it will always boil down to the rich and powerful standing on top of everyone else.

Maes said:

Unless "big government" is a stand-in for "left", "center-left" or "center". The use of "liberal" as a stand-in for "left" (is that correct?) is also confusing (at least to non-USA citizens), as in Europe "liberal" usually is associated with conservative right and US-type imperialism.

It means liberal as in socially liberal. Big government stands for left-leaning economic views and small government for rightish ones. I explained this in the OP.

Maes said:

Something tells me that your poll's options don't exactly capture all of the political spectrum.

That is because I ran out of poll options. I would have added more if I had been allowed to (it says a maximum of 10).

I'm the person that thinks all politicians are idiots.

Ed said:

No isms, alignments, group thought subscription or doctrines of ethical, fiscal or social ideologies what-so-ever. It's a completely contrived delusion.

Pretty much my conclusion, too.

I don't very much see that as the case.

Is the inherent value of a Bentley that much higher than a Hyundai? Is the primary function of each so far apart that it separates you into a different class of people by having one or the other? What else is there.. shiny rocks with an applied value, a bigger television?

Every king, conqueror, or magnate before this generation had a lower standard of living than I do. I have access to sustenance, limitless information, medical care or any earthly pleasure I could ask for. More than anyone that came before my time. A billionaire's living conditions are only marginally better than my own.

Ed said:

A billionaire's living conditions are only marginally better than my own.

They are working on that.

What is your political alignment?

Chaotic Neutral. (is shot)

After playing Tropico, I'd say Dictatorship. Run it like a company. Make lots of money. Look out for your people so they don't overthrow or murder you. I'm surprised there aren't SJWs after that game.

My step dad is a life long politician as I know I've mentioned here in this forum. He's won every seat in his town. He's been the senior councilman. He's now the senior mayor. He always wins in a land slide. Everyone loves him. His town hasn't raised taxes in 30+ years. It always makes profit. Not balance, profit. Ex councilmen get on his case saying that a town shouldn't have profit, it should be balanced. Where exactly does the profit go? Into the treasury of course.

For the past 15 years his political party has forced him to climb the ladder. To go for county offices like county Treasurer, state senate and county supervisor. He always loses by 2/3rds the vote. EVERY politician in his political party loses in a 2/3rds vote when its anything more than their own town.

Every two years looking at the results. 2/3rds. 2/3rds. 2/3rds. The politicians from the other party win. No matter how unqualified, corrupt or rookie of a politician they are. It was funny when a 19 year old unemployed guy with a GED who lives with his parents beat out a successful medical lawyer + practicing doctor with a medical degree for county coroner. Beat him by 2/3rds the vote. The doctor would be the first coroner in this county to have a medical degree.

Its getting so you can predict who will win in the primaries. Let's say 2/3rds of the people show up and ask for a certain political party's ballot. Chances are that political party candidate will win :-) Its already in the bag before the real election.

Vent over.

I vote for Green Party candidates when I can. I don't care that they are unlikely to get into office given the current political climate in the US, it's better than no vote at all (or a vote to the Republicans). Both mainstream parties are too similar to one another, they never really properly address many issues. The Democrats pretend to care, but they usually just go with whatever the Republicans want.

-Pro 2nd Amendment

-Pro Gay/LGBT Rights

-Pro Choice

-Against the influence of money in politics

I guess I'm sorta conservative economically speaking, and half and half socially.

Like you know, Pro-2ndAmend, Pro-Gay/LGBT rights (Well, you know, the the point they get the same stuff everyone else gets, as opposed to getting benefits others wouldn't just because of orientation... So I don't know actually what that means Pro or Non Pro)

I don't know. Politics suck anyways.

I'll vote for anyone who will reform the voting system.

I don't have very strong political convictions, I prefer to be left alone.

I don't think it's that worth it to participate in the political system as a whole considering how irrelevant the entire system is to society now. All the actual power to change society is bottled up in places that voters have absolutely no access to.

I believe people should be free to go where they want and do what they please, whether for their own amusement or survival, it doesn't matter too much.

I'm socially liberal, I don't have any religious conviction to make people live one way or another. Whatever floats your boat, as long as it doesn't bother me really.

I believe for the most part in free markets.

I don't believe the necessities of living (food, healthcare, shelter) are human rights. I don't think nationalized healthcare is as efficient as a free market, but I still think the systems countries like Canada have are miles better than the clusterfuck we have here in the states.

I believe faith in socialism or capitalism have no bearing on a person's level of compassion and sympathy for other human beings and it annoys me to all hell when one side accuses the other of being less human than the other. What a way to oversimplify the issues at hand, sheesh.

I tend to bounce between an anarcho-syndicalist and a Trotskyist.

Very socially liberal. In terms of economics, it's more difficult to pin down when what most people think of as normal looks like a complete clusterfuck to you. For the sake of an easy label, call me a monetary revisionist.

fraggle said:

I'll vote for anyone who will reform the voting system.

This too, although my views are a little more extreme and would involve deprecating elected representatives as a concept altogether. Consign them to the history books for being pointless middlemen. Lobbying automatically goes away as a result. Win.

DooMAD said:

This too, although my views are a little more extreme and would involve deprecating elected representatives as a concept altogether.

Nope. I don't trust the majority of the electorate to take the time to properly understand every issue that needs to be voted on. Plus it would require the entire population to waste time voting on every issue, which is unlikely to happen. So elected representatives do serve a purpose.

fraggle said:

Nope. I don't trust the majority of the electorate to take the time to properly understand every issue that needs to be voted on. Plus it would require the entire population to waste time voting on every issue, which is unlikely to happen. So elected representatives do serve a purpose.

The implication being that true democratic representation is a waste of time? ;p

Seriously though, our current system clearly doesn't require the entire Commons to vote on every issue. Whoever bothers to turn up without falling asleep can vote. This would work the same way. The very fact that it would be more effort means that it's likely that only the people who genuinely care about an issue would vote. The "untrustworthy" portion of the electorate likely wouldn't bother to make the effort because they're too busy watching BigCelebrityFactorKyleTalent.

I think European style multi-party systems are the best options. They make it very hard for one or two parties to get a monopoly on power like has happened in the US. In my country there are currently over 6 parties in congress. Though 4 of them are honestly just different variations of the same thing.

I just went liberal, but man it can get complex when you think about it. Socially, I'm about as liberal as you can get - anything goes as long as you're not hurting anyone. Fiscally, though, it's a bit murkier. On the one hand, I don't think government should be too overbearing. On the other hand, I firmly believe in safety nets. On the one hand, I think companies should be kept honest - deception/lying about the safety of your products shouldn't be permitted, but on the other hand, I don't want to see anything outright banned for "the greater good." By that I mean, there shouldn't be commercials espousing the health benefits of smoking, for instance, but on the other hand, just because cigarettes are harmful (and gross), doesn't mean people shouldn't be free to buy them if they want.

And over the course of my life, I've shifted from liberal to leaning more libertarian then backing off on that when I decided I really do think social programs are important.

I just got into watching Black Mirror. They had a Waldo episode where a computer generated character ended up running for prime minister.

I try to remain politically informed, as the reprecussions are felt by the nation as a whole, and sometimes beyond. Pretty much every politician pisses me off to one degree or another, though. No one ever proposes any sort of balance.

For example, If a politician/political party is smart in terms of "economics", they're fucking retarded in terms of "rights and freedoms". If they're smart in terms of "foriegn policy", they're fucking retarded in terms of "economics", and it's just this vicious cycle of "if they're good in "X", they suck dog balls in "Y". Just replace what fills the quotes with whatever you like, and that'll describe multiple political stances guaranteed.

My political stance/advice is "Take a toke, then decide."

geo said:

I just got into watching Black Mirror. They had a Waldo episode where a computer generated character ended up running for prime minister.

...I'm just going to recommend people watch Black Mirror instead of ratting off my opinions on politics and risk alienating that recommendation.

Seriously, it's really good.

hardcore_gamer said:

I think European style multi-party systems are the best options. They make it very hard for one or two parties to get a monopoly on power like has happened in the US. In my country there are currently over 6 parties in congress. Though 4 of them are honestly just different variations of the same thing.

Yes, agreed. Fix the voting system and this is what you will get.

hardcore_gamer said:

What is your alignment?

Jupiter with Mars, but only while the Moon's in the 7th house.

fraggle said:

I'll vote for anyone who will reform the voting system.

I'd echo that sentiment if the probability of those reforms working to the benefit of the person/party that enacts them was low.

GreyGhost said:

I'd echo that sentiment if the probability of those reforms working to the benefit of the person/party that enacts them was low.

Well that's a Catch-22 if I ever saw one... No one's ever going to enact reform that doesn't directly benefit them or hurt their opponents. But then again, people who aren't pushing for reform probably aren't pushing for it for the exact same reason - they benefit from the system remaining the same.

On a side note, I hate how fuckin' Australia has it backward in terms of political labels. If you're an American Liberal, you're more or less an Australian Labor. If you're an American Republican, you're an Australian Liberal. Try and make sense of that shit...

I studied political science throughout college. But as I get older, I feel like I care less and less about these labels. Western democracies are states that have individuals who are ultimately shades of both left and right, who make compromises based on decisions that have many nuances behind them. These decisions are influenced by factors, such as economic, social, religious, as well as ideological. Politics should not be looked as a religion, or faction. But rather as a position, or collection of positions, for particular issues; nothing more.