no, I think libertarian is a person who leans left socially, but right fiscally or something like that.
bernie is a democratic socialist, not a libertarian.
I would not say you’re “strong left” if you’re against raising taxes. That’s mostly what I view the strong left as, pretty much socialist.
If that’s the case, then that’s where I fall. But again, it depends on the topic. I think there are things society should do as a whole (universal healthcare in some fashion) but it’s not the government’s place to provide it (though it probably has to get involved on the administrative side because the private sector has zero interest in doing its part).
And maybe that’s my take on government: it has a role to play in the betterment of society when the private sector can’t or won’t do its part to further advancement, as opposed to a true libertarian view of individual rights above all else. Government has a place, I happen to think it should be more limited than it currently is but where it needs to step in it shouldn’t be some pussy-footed Jay Leno sounding response.
What a nice thread. I remember the old days, a thousand million billion years ago in 2015, when “libertarian” was a meaningful word that people used all the time.
I mean, Greg Gutfeld on Fox news claims to be libertarian.
There are a few things that unite some of the left and right to make the line blurry imo.
LGBT rights (I know quite a few republican gays)
Taxes (lots of fiscally conservative dems)
Drug/pot legalization (plenty of right wing pot heads)
I’m probably somewhere between lean left and strong left. Could really be in either category depending on the issue.
I’m another one who considered myself somewhat conservative and tended to vote more Republican years ago, but have seen the Republican party leave me far behind. I’m now referred to by my Fox-or-worse-watching relatives as a socialist, although my views haven’t really changed that much.
Same. If “Left” had been an option, I would have gone with that one.
In the ancient pre-Trump times, (American) Libertarian meant Ron Paul voter and Ayn Rand worshipper.
It meant:
The main thing it has in common with socialism that they’re both quixotic.
There is also (non-American) Libertarianism, which is leftist-hippy-anarchists who hate capitalism and government, and just want to squat in the woods and grow weed.
[quote=“SredniVashtar, post:28, topic:4266”]
^
post-trump times, it does seem that libertarians often seem to support trump, or maybe it’s just the libertarians i’ve come across.
I thought the amount of food aid was based on income. How much of a cliff is there at the “some/none” line?
In my state it’s a hard cutoff at an income limit, it does change by number of household members. Would have to research specifics. Maybe it’s a lot different in other states.
By US standards, I lean left. By standards of the town I live in, I’m probably pretty centrist. Compared to Europeans, I lean right.
In the current political climate, Strong left. The following Wikipedia excerpts are useful definitions of terms. The order is important to me.
Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social services. Social equality requires the absence of legally enforced social class or caste boundaries and the absence of discrimination motivated by an inalienable part of an individual’s identity.[1] For example, advocates of social equality believe in equality before the law for all individuals regardless of sex, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste or class, income or property, language, religion, convictions, opinions, health, disability or species.[2][3] Social equality is related to equal opportunity.
Egalitarianism (from French égal ‘equal’), or equalitarianism ,[1][2] is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people.[3] Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or moral status.[4] Egalitarianism is the doctrine that all citizens of a state should be accorded exactly equal rights.[5]
Libertarianism (from French: libertaire , “libertarian”; from Latin: libertas , “freedom”) is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core principle.[1] Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, emphasizing free association, freedom of choice, individualism and voluntary association.[2]
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy. Anarchism calls for the abolition of the state, which it holds to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful.
The current use of the term libertarian in America only focuses on the states challenges to liberty while down playing or even promoting the non-state (corporate, religious) challenges to liberty. Similar to the co-opting of the word conservative from a meaning of fiscally careful, self funded, analytical spending to pro-military, pro-business, top down spending without regard for the impact.
I’m actually partial to this. I wouldn’t say taxation is literally theft, but it’s sure theft-like.
Squid Game imo
It can appear that way today. Its origins are actually more like today’s insurance. When humans first began to settle and become agrarian, a certain amount of grain was collected (collectivism) and stored to combat famine. This predates money, and the tablets recorded who owed what to he collective.
The world lived on the edge of starvation through history until Borlaug’s green revolution.
I’d accept this if driving on roads is theft of the integrity of the road and collecting Social Security is theft from the government.
(Or maybe we want to re-skin this like being Robin Hood.)
Regan right? Is that just left of center now?
A s a European, I consider the US to have two right wing parties, though the Democrats do have some left leaning politicians.