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What made you have the political views that you do?

dan_quayle.jpg

He's no Joe Biden.
 

georges

Moderator
Staff member
The failed policies and dumbass laws of the following socialist governments in my country made me despise leftism and far leftism including communism and socialism. For me socialism was always a synonym of dumbing down the level of the society and sharing the equal distribution of misery. Socialism is a regime where leechoffs, unwilling to work parasites and other illegals can ride the welfare train without being punished and live of it pretty well. I am a very convicted right winger, I am for a meritocracy but also for the fact that every person can bust their ass off and succeed and that wealth is something personal and individual that shouldn't be shared. I also dislike community organizers that is also why I vote right wing.
 
so instead you go extreme fascist. the problem is extreme on the right or the left is the downfall of countries, extremism is always a destructive force
 

georges

Moderator
Staff member
so instead you go extreme fascist. the problem is extreme on the right or the left is the downfall of countries, extremism is always a destructive force

No, that is absolutely false because I voted chirac in 2002, sarkozy in 2007 and 2012 and I voted since I am 18 for their respective political parties the RPR and the UMP at the local, regional, legislative and european elections. The UMP and its former predecessor party the RPR were never considered as far right parties. So I am not an extreme facist. Disliking socialists is not a crime and so is pointing out a socialist government who is spending money irresponsibly If strict law abidance and iron discipline are problems for you then I don't understand you. Because in every country, you have laws and a constitution to obey. Just because someone dislikes the left and its ideas, it doesn't make of him a fascist. It is easy to name call someone just because he thinks differently than you.
 
I blame it all on one book that opened my eyes. I have had the opinions I have for a very long time, but I haven´t had an interest in politics before.
Now that we have had a centre-right liberal conservative government since 2006 I am more convinced than ever that social democratism is the right way.
 

larss

I'm watching some specialist videos
Probably my upbringing led to my views along with my experiences in life.
I am a Conservative when looking at UK politics but this probably puts me into the "Liberal" camp when taken from a USA perspective. I certainly think that UK Conservatives are closer to the US Democrats than they are to Republicans.
I believe that the "haves" have a responsibility to the "have nots" and that because most of the "haves" are selfish bastards, then government has to help the "have nots" on our behalf.
I have a distinct dislike of the lazy, scrounging bastards that proudly do not work because they can fiddle the system. They make those that have been dealt a poor hand in life but who want to work and be self reliant look bad.
There are some Conservative policies that I disagree and some Labour policies that I agree with but on the whole I am more aligned with the Conservatives than Labour and so that is the way that I tend to vote.

Today I spotted a quote by Woodrow Wilson that I thought might share.
"A conservative is a man who sits and thinks, mostly sits."
 
First some reflection on this topic:

Among the many interesting posts in this topic, I see that many people use words without defining them.
Especially names of ideologies (communism, socialism, conservatism) are prone this this kind of usage. Therefore, I will first briefly explain how I view the political ideologies relevant to my political views. Perhaps these definitions can function as a focal point for further discussion? There are by no means complete or exhaustive (Please criticize them).

Ideology:
A set of political ideas which contains a description of the existing order, a vision to how this order should be in the future and how this change should be achieved.

Liberalism:
An ideology which focuses on the freedom and power of the individual. Because the individual is able to reason, he deserves maximum freedom. However, he is also to be held accountable for his situation, since it is his own doing. The emphasis is on negative freedom (absence of barriers to action) and the harm principle (any action is allowed which does not harm others).

Conservatism:
As the name implies, this ideology value tradition for its own sake. Furthermore, where liberalism assumes a good and reasonable human being who is the master of his own future, conservative ideology places emphasis on the shortcomings of man. The people need guidance from their community and authority to be morally good.

Socialism:
Socialism doesn't look at humans as powerful on their own, they are only able to overcome social and economic problems through cooperation. Therefore, socialists emphasize equal cooperation. Leftists strands of socialism also emphasize actual common ownership, while more modest version interpret this common ownership in a moral sense.

My views:
I have come to my views through my upbringing, my education and my reflection. Both my parents are Marxist (for those of you who watch Fox: this is not what you think it is), and I studied Political Science (which had a great deal of political philosophy in it). I would consider myself a moderate socialist. This means that I think many liberals overestimate the power of individuals (and thus their responsibility). An example is a discussion here in the Netherlands with regard to the super high salaries of public sector employees (especially public television). I am against this since I think people should be rewarded for their choices and work, not for their circumstances. Super high wages are suspect, because there is no way a certain person can work 1000x harder then someone else. I'm all for wage differentation, but it should only be used as an incentive to work hard, and as a reward for this harder work.

On the other hand, I disagree with the emphasis many conservative place on a common morality as well as their emphasis on tradition. I do not value tradition in and of itself, which does not mean traditions cannot have value. An example is the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas (the original Santa Clause). Instead of elves, Sinterklass is helped by knechten, which are some kind of slaves who do get paid a bit. Recently, this tradition has been attacked by international organization such as the UN for being racist (the knechten are stereotypical afro-americans which thick lips, black skin, golden earrings and curly hair). I do like this holiday ofcourse (tradition can have value), but that doesn't mean it can't be reinterpreted (Sinterklaas is what we make of it, instead of what our grandparents made of it). I think it would be reasonable to change the status and appearance of his helpers. Make them background neutral or diversified, or just place no emphasis on it anymore.

Finally, another point on which I can agree with socialism is the emphasis placed on cooperation. I think that if I would live in the U.S., I would be a big proponent of ObamaCare and a mandatory insurance. I think that individual freedom is very valuable, don't get me wrong. But that doesn't mean that it is right for the individual to place a huge burden on the society he lives in (by not insuring himself and thus being a burden later on). The individual is indebted to society in some ways as well (he would not be here, not be as smart and capable without what society offered him: a community of cooperation and care). Therefore, I think it is the duty of the individual to take care of himself in such a way, as to be at least of some value to his own community. Please note that within this duty, a lot of freedom remains. He or she can still live his or her life as he wants, even living from welfare if he or she wants. However, I do think that justice has a priority over the good. Which means that each individual vision of the good life is restrained by the vision of the good life others have. I hope that is not too abstract and the preceding examples were concrete enough.

I'm looking forward to a conversation!
 
Education and common sense.

When the candidates for any election are announced I spend time educating myself as to who they are and what they represent and then I use my common sense to determine the best person, from the choices I am given, for the elected position.

Most people in my family are ex military and very cynical about political matters and therefore choose to vote very seldom where as I share the same cynicism I choose to vote at every occasion or issue.
 

bahodeme

Closed Account
My political views were started by my parents and other adults growing up. Then it was disspelled or confirmed by life experiences, as everything else.
 

Jagger69

Three lullabies in an ancient tongue
Life experience....growing up in the 60s and 70s. The evolution of the Eisenhower-predicted military-industrial complex that took place right before my very eyes caused me to develop a very deep-seated value system that taught me to trust neither business nor government. I therefore become primarily concerned about the extension and protection of individual human rights and personal freedoms and to support efforts to inhibit government intrusion into both our public and private lives. Was then, am now, always will be.
 
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