Which Philosophy Fits You Best?

[stebo0728]

Left (Liberal)
Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net" to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

Libertarian
Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Centrist
Centrist espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

Right (Conservative)
Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates "traditional values." They oppose excessive government control of business, while endorsing government action to defend morality and the traditional family structure. Conservatives usually support a strong military, oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market economy, and endorse strong law enforcement.

Statists (Big Government)
Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in today's world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties.

These are probably rather vague descriptions, but the gist is most likely correct. Which one do you think fits you best? Its ok if none fit you exactly, but which one is closest?

Mine would be Libertarian.

[AZhitman]

<-- Libertarian with a mean fiscal conservative streak.

[AppleBonker]

How about libertarian-leaning centrist? The problem with pushing libertarian policies now is that the nation would have to rework quite a few things to dig out of some holes first. There are some cases where we've just straight up screwed the pooch and any one set of political ideals will not likely generate the ideal solution to the problem. In theory, or starting a nation from scratch, libertarian for me all the way.

[IBCoupe]

Centrist is vague enough to accurately capture my given views at any given time. Some of the left/liberal ("safety net") and libertarian (you might say I'm a "civil libertarian," which, if I recall, was a tag that liberals hid behind for a while until the political right PR'd the heck out of that label, too) traits can be decent predictors of where I'll be, but I'm never committed enough to a given position to adopt either one completely.

Right/Conservative and Statist look like absolutely absurd ideologies to me.

[AZhitman]

Right/Conservative and Statist look like absolutely absurd ideologies to me.

One of them made us the economic and military superpower we are today.

Not an attempt at contentiousness, just saying conservatism isn't a bad foundation on which to build, if you can get past the "ickyness" of stepping on the lazy people, paying the working-class based on how much they can make for the company, and hurting weak and frail people's feelings.

[themadscientist]

This....
http://www.themadmoderate.com/

[IBCoupe]

Actually, Greg, it was this line, specifically, that made me laugh at "Conservatism:"

Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior...

And I really don't think it was Conservatism alone that made us what we are. That was sort of Palinesque, Greg... didn't she make the claim that it was Conservatives that won WWII? There seems to be a weird trend in many places - I remember a few years ago people talked about the other side, and disagreed with it, and even belittled it. Now, it's as if we're starting to forget that half the country exists.

[Cold_Zero]

Actually, Greg, it was this line, specifically, that made me laugh at "Conservatism:"

Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior...

And I really don't think it was Conservatism alone that made us what we are. That was sort of Palinesque, Greg... didn't she make the claim that it was Conservatives that won WWII? There seems to be a weird trend in many places - I remember a few years ago people talked about the other side, and disagreed with it, and even belittled it. Now, it's as if we're starting to forget that half the country exists.

It def was not the neo-conservatism that is making the rounds today, that either won the war or vaulted us to military and superpower dominance. One of the reasons why I dislike neo-conservatives.
bud

[stebo0728]

One of the problems the Right (Conservatism) is having today, is dealing with the new age morality. Never before has the right had to fight against homosexual rights, condoned death of unborn children, etc. There was the blip of interracial marriage, but beyond that, this nation's moral compass has usually been pointing north on its own, until the past 3 or 4 decades. The Right was free to focus on free trade, economic liberty, and the like, without having to be concerned with issues of morality. 50 years ago, the definition above would have made no mention of the Right's desire to legislate morality, because it was non-issue. The Right is not taking well to the change.

[IBCoupe]

That might very well be the case, and it makes a lot of sense. It's not so much that the Right has become further and further away from libertarianism that used to emblemize them; it's that the divisions within the right became more prominent as social issues did so.

[vikesfankevin1986]

I have a lot to say about this, so I have not read any of the replies.
First I want to say that I think "conservative" and "liberal" should be swapped. I always get confused about which is which. When I think of the word conservative, I think protect our money, protect our people and mind your own business. Kind of be old fasion. But this is more what "liberals" think.
I would not expect "conservatives" to be trying to get into wars and throwing away billions of dollars to do it. I mean how long did it take to build the levies after Katrina? Maybe that should be our number 1 priority and not some stupid sandbox.

Now that we have that out of the way...I like bits of everyone of those EXCEPT "conservative"
Here is what I agree with...
Left (Liberal)
Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net" to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.
Actually I like pretty much all of this...

Libertarian
protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles

Centrist
pride themselves on keeping an open mind, and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

Statists (Big Government)
Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in today's world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support high taxes and question the importance of civil liberties.

Here is what I DO NOT like about conservatives...
Right (Conservative)
Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom(exactly, so they have their big huge oil companies, ect)
but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates "traditional values."
(Yea because times don't change. The good book says gay marriage is wrong so its wrong. Times change people, lets not go by stuff that was acceptable hundreds of years ago.)
They oppose excessive government control of business(well of course. Who wants the government controling their oil sales)

while endorsing government action to defend morality(Good theory but flawed logic. Are they using science or just emotions and uneducated feelings)

and the traditional family structure.(So man, wife, child? So lets s*** on single parents and divorced parents and kids from those homes. Lets s*** on children raised by other family members or gay parents. Good they don't even support most Americans)

Conservatives usually support a strong military,(ok I can see that)
oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market economy (They oppose high taxes but where do they plan on getting the money needed to build and fix things and pay for other things taxes pay for? Oh, thats right, they cut them from schools, making school less effective and more expensive. I guess these are the people that will be voting for them in the future)
and endorse strong law enforcement.(I guess this isn't a bad thing)

Personally I prefer a Aristocracy type of government. Get a few intellegent people that know how to run a country and let them do it.
"I should get the right to vote!" Um no...I would go as far to say that unless you have a college degree with a set number of classes in economics and politics, you do not deserve to vote. Why should you get the right to vote for something you know nothing about?
I don't go in to your job and vote on things such as pay, how many people it takes to do a job, how long it takes, how it should be run, because I don't know d!ck about your job. So why should I have that right?
Why should some smuck with a GED that skipped class, got high, had sex, and can read at a 3rd grade level have the right to vote on how an entire country is going to be run. I mean from a logical stand point and not "because that's how our system is set up" kind of answer?

I guess in short I am a little bit of everything but I am closest to Liberal. I know my views are very different than most peoples

[AZhitman]

I remember a few years ago people talked about the other side, and disagreed with it, and even belittled it. Now, it's as if we're starting to forget that half the country exists.

Yep.

Kinda like the Left forgetting that they supported segregation and slavery, and somehow "rewriting" history to leave that totally out.

Turnabout is fair play, and the tide is turning.

I think, in all seriousness, that the Right has accepted, tolerated, adjusted, and absorbed change after change after change... at some point, everyone reaches their "HOLD IT - STOP - ENOUGH" point, where they're tired of accomodating every minority viewpoint, tolerating every new change, reconciling progress with their upbringing, and absorbing hits on their values and beliefs.

Just as we can't judge the Left for their activism, neither can we judge the Right for wanting to take a breather and catch up. Rights apply to all people, and those who "cling to guns and religion" have JUST AS MUCH right to do so.

[IBCoupe]

Kinda like the Left forgetting that they supported segregation and slavery, and somehow "rewriting" history to leave that totally out.

The left supported that? Or do you mean the Democratic Party? Did we forget that the Right and the Left have changed parties more than once in our history? Or that the Democrats who supported segregation largely either abandoned that principle or left that party and joined a party whose name I'll leave you to guess?

I think, in all seriousness, that the Right has accepted, tolerated, adjusted, and absorbed change after change after change... at some point, everyone reaches their "HOLD IT - STOP - ENOUGH" point, where they're tired of accomodating every minority viewpoint, tolerating every new change, reconciling progress with their upbringing, and absorbing hits on their values and beliefs.

The problem is, I think they've gone with something that isn't exactly a majority viewpoint. Begun, the Tea Party Wars have.

Just as we can't judge the Left for their activism, neither can we judge the Right for wanting to take a breather and catch up. Rights apply to all people, and those who "cling to guns and religion" have JUST AS MUCH right to do so.

Agreed, but I don't see so much "ignoring" of the right. Lots of open disagreement and criticism, which is fine by me. But nobody's acting as if the American Right does not exist, or is, in fact, not American (which, to me, feels more insidious and dangerous).