are you left,right or centre?

[bozo]

Heh, even though I'm not British I have a tendency to spell things the British way because in some cases I think it looks nicer, take my Blog title for example. XD So centre doesn't bother me at all. I also prefer theatre.

As for my political views, I'm definitely a far left liberal, and my political party is Independent because, even though I vote Democrat, I don't always agree with them and prefer not to label myself as a party that still alienates atheists.

E, as an American, do you struggle with using socialism to express your political allegiance?

[Eilonnwy]

I don't consider myself a socialist, although I know I probably hold socialist beliefs. I don't know enough about socialism to be able to accurately judge if I am or not. I don't know if I am one, but I don't think being a socialist should be so demonized the way it is here. I've never been negatively accused of being a socialist, if that's what you're asking, and I wouldn't necessarily be offended if I was called one. But like I said, I don't know enough about the party to judge it.

[bozo]

I don't consider myself a socialist, although I know I probably hold socialist beliefs. I don't know enough about socialism to be able to accurately judge if I am or not. I don't know if I am one, but I don't think being a socialist should be so demonized the way it is here. I've never been negatively accused of being a socialist, if that's what you're asking, and I wouldn't necessarily be offended if I was called one. But like I said, I don't know enough about the party to judge it.

E, your post throws up several questions, not least if you have socialist beliefs, why deny them?
There is no mystery surrounding socialism, the dictionary definitions illustrate the difference between a capitalist and socialist order for society.
In your country, I,m not surprised that you are not demonized...they probably think you're a crank or that you'll get over it!
As regards a " party "...forget it.....the ones that claim to be socialist are not, usually. Cuba is the obvious exception.

[Eilonnwy]

E, your post throws up several questions, not least if you have socialist beliefs, why deny them?
There is no mystery surrounding socialism, the dictionary definitions illustrate the difference between a capitalist and socialist order for society.
In your country, I,m not surprised that you are not demonized...they probably think you're a crank or that you'll get over it!
As regards a " party "...forget it.....the ones that claim to be socialist are not, usually. Cuba is the obvious exception.

I didn't say I deny them, but just that I'm not well informed on the subject. Besides, I do (in general) support capitalism.

[bozo]

E, your post throws up several questions, not least if you have socialist beliefs, why deny them?
There is no mystery surrounding socialism, the dictionary definitions illustrate the difference between a capitalist and socialist order for society.
In your country, I,m not surprised that you are not demonized...they probably think you're a crank or that you'll get over it!
As regards a " party "...forget it.....the ones that claim to be socialist are not, usually. Cuba is the obvious exception.

E, oh well if you have capitalist tendencies then they will probably win out, so don't delude yourself that you are in any way socialist would be my advice.

I didn't say I deny them, but just that I'm not well informed on the subject. Besides, I do (in general) support capitalism.

[Eilonnwy]

E, oh well if you have capitalist tendencies then they will probably win out, so don't delude yourself that you are in any way socialist would be my advice.

I'm not deluding myself. I know I do support some socialist beliefs, but do not consider myself one. I was just trying to be fair and admit I'm not as well read on the subject either.

[infidel666]

I am radical. Left of left. Socialist, but not Marxist. I am actually fond of having the state in competition with private interests in the marketplace. My favorite example is having UPS and the USPS offering competing services. It's a win win that works well. I wish we had that sort of thing for health insurance, medical services, etc.

And almost everyone seems to recognize that it is a good idea to have state regulation in the case of limited resources, like railroads, cable networks, etc. However, I am still on the fence regarding net neutrality. Right now, I visualize a scheme in which ISPs are required to provide a percentage of their bandwidth, but the government purchases it from them. Sort of like imminent domain. But I haven't given it a whole lot of thought.

[Tiberius]

I agree with Eilonnwy. I support Capitalism but have several socialist / communist tendancies. There is nothing wrong with combining views, and it certainly isn't deluding.

[bozo]

I agree with Eilonnwy. I support Capitalism but have several socialist / communist tendancies. There is nothing wrong with combining views, and it certainly isn't deluding.

CR/Adrian, the 2 concepts are diametrically opposed. You cannot support capitalism and have socialist tendencies....they will end up as watered down capitalism.
I don't think delude is too strong a word for your positions.

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I am radical. Left of left. Socialist, but not Marxist. I am actually fond of having the state in competition with private interests in the marketplace. My favorite example is having UPS and the USPS offering competing services. It's a win win that works well. I wish we had that sort of thing for health insurance, medical services, etc.

And almost everyone seems to recognize that it is a good idea to have state regulation in the case of limited resources, like railroads, cable networks, etc. However, I am still on the fence regarding net neutrality. Right now, I visualize a scheme in which ISPs are required to provide a percentage of their bandwidth, but the government purchases it from them. Sort of like imminent domain. But I haven't given it a whole lot of thought.

infidel, you say you are left of left but not marxist. what does that mean? Is Marx right of you? or too left?
The essence of socialism is that the state rules in place of competition for profits.

[infidel666]

I see Marxist as communist, and socialist as somewhere/anywhere between total laissez faire capitalism and communism. So, by saying I am socialist but not Marxist, I'm being redundant. Communism is left of me. It is the far end of the spectrum.

I don't think there is a single "capitalist" or "communist" government in existence. They are all just varying degrees of socialism.

I say I'm radical because I like the idea of state and private interests in competition. That idea is basically anathema to most everyone who advocates for socialism, communism, or capitalism. And I think it is left of any government in existence. I advocate, potentially, for the state to provide EVERY good and service, like communism, but with private competition being permitted to exist alongside.