NationStates Jolt Archive

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?

Initially I was a left-liberal, then a reformist socialist, followed by anarcho-syndicalist until i settled on Trotskyism. It was a slippery slope.

I was a reformist socialist originally.

just steadily moving more and more to the left as i grew up

though i've always been something of a socialist

I've been a libertarian ever sense I knew what politics were. I called myself a Republican in my early youth but that doesnt count because I didnt know what it meant; I only knew my mother voted Republican so to the nine year old mind this made me a Republican.

I almost became a Socialist in late middle school but I passed my saving throw.

I almost became a Socialist in late middle school but I passed my saving throw.

Failed it, you mean. ;)

I was an anti-democracy communist before I understood exactly what I disliked about the democracies of the world. Then I became a Socialist, or more accurately, a democratic market-socialist with social libertarian beliefs.

I was a Republican. I'm still registered as one for the purposes of voting in primaries, but now there are few republicans I'd vote for.

I used to be a republican. I know I didn't fit in with many of their socially athoritarian beliefs.

Thank God I found libertarianism!

I used to be a conservative, then a liberal, then a democratic socialist, until now as an anarchist.

I was an anti-democracy communist before I understood exactly what I disliked about the democracies of the world. Then I became a Socialist, or more accurately, a democratic market-socialist with social libertarian beliefs.

A stalinist turned social-democrat. You've followed what happened to a lot of the old third international parties.

Used to be a moderate, then a conservative, then extreme right-wing (antifascist, though), and now a hard-core libertarian minarchist.

In high school I had socialist leanings that eventually shifted to borderline communism by my freshman year of college. Then I learned economics.

I flirted with communism before realizing that the authoritarian nature of all communist regimes was inherent in the concept of the "vanguard party" and the cadre structure and all the rest of it. Like Lenin himself, communist organizations (and I include most Trotskyists under this) do not trust the workers nor genuinely respect their rights. Given a chance, they are as oppressive to dissident workers as the bosses are (see the tragic history of the Kronstadt).

Sadly, as I live in the United States, I am not allowed to choose any kind of politically coherent party; so I try to keep the Democrats from lurching any further to the right. (Libertarians have my sympathy, if they genuinely believe that Alito is the best their "allies" in the Republican party can do; over here, we have to deal with the wimps and the blimp [Teddy].)

In high school I had socialist leanings that eventually shifted to borderline communism by my freshman year of college. Then I learned economics.
heh it was partly learning economics that pushed me over the threshold of communism :p


though a degree-level knowledge of economics and a wider reading in political philosophy is (partially at least) why i'm not your average commie...

I was an indepedent. Now, I am an Independent. Funny how that works eh?

I was raised Socialist, with Social Democratic leanings. When I left home I took up with various Anarchists, but was never too impressed with their outlooks. I dallied with the Marxist-Leninists off and on, while voting Socialist, and once strategically voted for the Liberals - in order to avoid splitting the local centre/left vote.

The experience of strategic voting actually dulled my political enthusiasm, as I ended up with an MP whose views I did not truly share, and who rarely, if at all, spoke for my point-of-view. Sliding into a period of self-examination, I revisited some of the forms of Anarchism I'd explored in my salad days, and realized that I had, in the fullness of time, evolved into an Anarcho-Syndicalist.

That being said, I still vote Socialist. Funny world.

heh it was partly learning economics that pushed me over the threshold of communism :p

I was going to say that you must have had a bad professor, but thought better of it.

It wasn't economics specifically that pushed me to capitalism, whereas it more or less refined my already held views and made me cynical of communism and made me loathe socialism.

If you had a different moral structure, I could understand economics giving you communistic views. Socialistic views on the other hand are just ridiculous.

though a degree-level knowledge of economics and a wider reading in philosophy is (partially at least) why i'm not your average commie...

Communism is so varied that I don't even know what the average commie is.

Nothing fits what I believe, maybe I just haven't found it yet.

I leaned toward democratic socialism during high school, but never declared any kind of real loyalty to the ideology. The websites and other information on democratic socialism that I found seemed too nebulous and fuzzy; a lot of complaining about what's wrong, but not a whole lot of actual solutions. At any rate, several forces conspired to turn me into a devout individualist and free-marketeer:

1) Clashes with the arbitrary authority of high school teachers, who insisted on wasting my time by babysitting instead of actually teaching. I went on strike, so to speak, and very nearly didn't graduate.

2) I actually took some time to live among the poor and destitute that democratic socialism claimed to assist. I volunteered my time and labor at an orphanage outside of Ensenada, Mexico. I noticed two very important facts: (a) there were a lot of people starving with no where to live, and (b) government officials, police, and soldier didn't seem to have this problem; all that I saw were well fed (some even overweight) and clothed. Something in the back of my head combined this observation with a PRI political poster that I saw on the way through Tijuana, which equated the PRI with the "hammer and sickle" imagery of Communism. The nights I spent pondering these two images acted to further push me into the anti-statist way of thinking.

3) Once the group I was traveling with arrived at the orphanage, I had the pleasure of observing the fruits of voluntary collective effort. We were there because we wanted to be there. No authority, government or otherwise, was compelling us to act. We spent the entire time engaged in heavy labor and other chores because we wanted to be so engaged. I was never so free before in my life. This experience and observation was pretty much the last nail in the coffin of whatever socialist tendency I may have had: I am not a socialist, or a capitalist, or any other sort of "ist" -- I am simply a free individual.

I suppose I still lean somewhat to the left, in the form of a deep and cynical distrust of corporations and monied interests. This distrust has its origins in the recognition of the fact that no one in society hates free individual enterprise more than corporations and monied interests. Free enterprise does not generate nearly enough profit, after all.

I used to be a lot more moderate economically than I am now.

Nothing fits what I believe, maybe I just haven't found it yet.

I should explain what I believe. I believe the job of the government is to make sure the people don't kill eachother and to protect the citizens against countries who attack us. It should have almost no power. Be run by the people (like how America was when it first started out) and provide BASIC things for life that require lots of people it be organized (thats where the governing part comes in), such as hospitals and waste manegment.

my political beliefs have always pretty much been the same (the goverment needs to leave people alone) but, when I originally registered to vote I was a registered democrat :eek:

My whole family are democrats so when I registered I knew they would look at my voter ID card and I was afraid that if I registered republican that I would get kicked out of the family house that I was staying at, I waited until I got a new place to stay and re-registered. ;)

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?
I was a conservative, then a communist (only for a couple of months though), then some vague sort of liberal, and now a half-hearted anarchist.

I campaigned for George McGovern. I voted for Jimmy Carter. I even voted for Bill Clinton once. Fortunately, I lived in Florida and the state went for Bush that year, so my vote didn't count. I even went to a State Democratic party convention once upon a time.

I think about those mistakes every election and wonder how I ever could have been so dumb. Then I remember -- I was young. So there's hope for all you leftists. You'll get older, too.

I campaigned for George McGovern. I voted for Jimmy Carter. I even voted for Bill Clinton once. Fortunately, I lived in Florida and the state went for Bush that year, so my vote didn't count. I even went to a State Democratic party convention once upon a time.

I think about those mistakes every election and wonder how I ever could have been so dumb. Then I remember -- I was young. So there's hope for all you leftists. You'll get older, too.
I worked for the democratic party in 2000 and voted republican, but to be fair they were paying $25 an hour and free lunch, so I mean at least I was well paid for my hipocracy. :D

I campaigned for George McGovern. I voted for Jimmy Carter. I even voted for Bill Clinton once. Fortunately, I lived in Florida and the state went for Bush that year, so my vote didn't count. I even went to a State Democratic party convention once upon a time.

I think about those mistakes every election and wonder how I ever could have been so dumb. Then I remember -- I was young. So there's hope for all you leftists. You'll get older, too.

Hopefully Ill never go so far-right as to confuse the democrats with leftists.

Hopefully Ill never go so far-right as to confuse the democrats with leftists.
not really confused, we just tend to over generalize you know "all those people to the left of me"

not really confused, we just tend to over generalize you know "all those people to the left of me"

okay, righty.

okay, righty.
darn skippy I am a righty, wouldn't feel "right" any other way:p

First I was left-liberal then a reformist socialist then a marxist-leninist and now I'm somewhere on the radical libertarian left.

First I was left-liberal then a reformist socialist then a marxist-leninist and now I'm somewhere on the radical libertarian left.

That's pretty much how it happened for me too. I spent the greatest period of time as a reformist, but I was sympathetic to Marxism until relatively recently.

I think I've always been a liberal with regards to civil and political freedoms. I went from communist to more of a moderate throughout my university career.

At one time I was a fan of Hobbes, but only because I doubted (and still do) all of this natural rights fluff. But then I realized at the end of the day that I would rather live in a (classic) Liberal state than a Hobbesian state.

I used to believe that one would have to reconcile one's self to boring sex once bound in matrimony....boring, monogamous sex...with the same person, for the rest of your life....no wonder I was always full of ennui!

I was a Republican. I'm still registered as one for the purposes of voting in primaries, but now there are few republicans I'd vote for.
Ditto. I vote individual platform/voting record.

I also used to be Pro death penalty... Still am, just in a very modified and extreme way. (so what else is new?)

I started out as a Republican, because that was what my parents were, and from there became a Neo-Nazi. I rested there for awhile, but I couldn't keep it up do to my own increasing moral decay. I went from viewing the Great White Race as the Christian saviours of the world, to realizing that Christianity was just another power structure and that white people could be just as worthy of contempt as blacks.
Now I'm a Libertarian because I realized that people should have the right to fuck up their own lives as they see fit without me or someone else providing them with instructions for the process.

Now I'm a Libertarian because I realized that people should have the right to fuck up their own lives as they see fit without me or someone else providing them with instructions for the process.
QUOTE OF THE DAY!

Cookie!

i used to be what i am now, just not as extreme as i am now. conservatism. when i first started it was more libertarian.... but now i'm more socially conservative and less economically motivated.

I used to be a Democrat. Now, I'm a lunatic. :D

I used to be a Democrat. Now, I'm a lunatic. :D
No, this is about how your political beliefs have changed!

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?

Initially I was a left-liberal, then a reformist socialist, followed by anarcho-syndicalist until i settled on Trotskyism. It was a slippery slope.
I was originally a rather far left liberal, but I got better. :D

Hmm... no right to left transitions so far.

I guess when you have given up on the world its not easy to go back to caring. :p

No, this is about how your political beliefs have changed!

:p

Sorry, my mistake.

I realized that I don't really fit anywhere because:

Democrat: I can't be a democrat because I think that Life without Parole is far crueler than the Death Penalty.

Republican: I can't be a member of any party that believes that all human life is sacred...unless it pisses you off.

Libertarian and various other third parties: None of them quite fit either.

I'd call myself a centrist, but that's boring nd makes people think I'm indecisive. I'm actually quite decisive. I just don't fit anywhere. I call myself a Happy Mediumist. :)

Funny thing, DHomme. I used to be a Trotskist when I was fifteen or sixteen.

Funny thing, DHomme. I used to be a Trotskist when I was fifteen or sixteen.

What went wrong?

What went wrong?
I think I answered on your Party's thread about what "went wrong". I could keep going, but I'm sure you want no more of that.

Used to be moderately authoritarian and capitalistic on the political compass, and considered myself a standard conservative Republican. Now, I'd say I'm a libertarian (no more social conservative agenda for me Pat Robertson), but with greater emphasis on economic freedoms. If you'll excuse me, I need to go back to my altars to Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, and Milton Friedman :p

I think I answered on your Party's thread about what "went wrong". I could keep going, but I'm sure you want no more of that.
I can no longer be arsed with internet debating to be quite frank. Nothing ever comes from it.

I can no longer be arsed with internet debating to be quite frank. Nothing ever comes from it.
Hehe. That's Trotskism for you. "No more debating": send us to the dustbin of history, why don't you?
Actually, I rejected Trotskism, not Trotskists. So I feel no need to step on your territory.

Hehe. That's Trotskism for you. "No more debating": send us to the dustbin of history, why don't you?
Actually, I rejected Trotskism, not Trotskists. So I feel no need to step on your territory.

Eurgh fine. Ill debate. What did you disagree with in trotskyism then?

Things I have learned growing up, politically:

1. Democrats hate me because I'm white.
2. Republicans hate me because I'm poor.
3. Democrats hate me because I'm male.
4. Republicans hate me because I'm anti-authoritarian.
5. Democrats hate me for the same, screw the system ideals.
6. Republicans hate me because I'm not one of their type.
7. Democrats hate me because I'm not one of their type.

So, the next time someone asks me if it's safe to blow up the planet, I'm saying YES.

Eurgh fine. Ill debate. What did you disagree with in trotskyism then?
I meant to say that if you don't want to, you don't have to. (The part with the dustbin of history was a cruel joke.)
If you do want to, than take a look at what I said on your thread. We'll get started from there. You might remember my points, so use them: we'll talk according to topics (first of all, because I can't be repeating them again - they're complex and long).

It used to be:

1) communist dictatorship then turned to

2) socialist dictatorship (NHS) then turned to

3) a brief period of Spartanism then turned to

3) left leaning centrist democracy with an aptitude test then turned to

4) technocracy then turned to ?

Not bad for a 15 year old (all this took place in 2 years all though this isn‘t too good when you look at it from a list)

Socio-Economic libertarian...

Never been affiliated with a main-line Party since I first began voting... Always independent or third-party.

I worked for the democratic party in 2000 and voted republican, but to be fair they were paying $25 an hour and free lunch, so I mean at least I was well paid for my hipocracy. :D
I campaigned for John Glenn, when I was in high school. The draw was the $25 I was supposed to get for handing out leaflets. Never did get the local Democratic party to pay up. I should have seen the writing on the wall.

My political beliefs are pretty complex and have always been even though they have changed a lot.

I strongly value simply ideas such as the freedom of speech and justice and most of everything else is open to debate and I believe that there are underlying principles to politics. However this does not tie into modern political science as I frankly believe politics in modern society to be extremely corrupt, distant and illogical.

My political beliefs are largely philosophically derived and I have amassed a huge amount of wisdom even though I am still 20. My head is not in the clouds however as my philosophy revolves around reality, what is good for the world and determinning what is occurring in the world. My ethics are based on ideal world scenarios and my extensive knoeldge of reasonning and logic and of critical thought is used to understand real world examples and the hundreds apon hundreds of factors which must be included when composing political solutions.

I am center right, however I have center left sentiments. I support democracy and capitalism, however I believe socialism should be used to prevent poverty. I am quite libertarian as I know a lot about human nature and believe that despotism is a huge problem in human civilisation and should be strongly opposed.

My knowledge of libertarianism is however rather limited to classical liberalism and other democratic sentiments and I support no libertarian political parties.

I believe I have the wisdom to resolve all political problems in the most efficient manner that my intelligence allows and can do so in a manner which cannot been achieved by societies that currently exist.

I also believe that debates such as the many that you get on this forum tend to be full of ambiguity, paranoid and people who follow political ideals like cults.


What do you think?

What do you think?
I think you occupy the same position held by most intellectuals today - worldwide, as most in the US would be libertarian or conservative dogmatics (fine for them, but let them eat cake).

I started off as a social darwinist, moved the very short step from there to full on anarchism, drifted through increasingly socialistic (and some might say, increasingly unrealistic) versions of anarchism until I grew up and actually started looking at the world.

These days, I'm not sure what you'd call it.
It's defined primarily by a self-interested utilitarian morality, taking the long-term view, and constantly having to navigate between the twin poles of TANSTAAFL and the tragedy of the commons.

It's odd because in practice it means I espouse what would traditionally be considered leftist ideas (social support, progressive taxation, gun control, abortion but not death penalty, etc.) but do so not because I care about the plight of others or believe there are any "natural" rights, but rather because I can see that they work to my own self-interest in the long term.

I used to be socially liberal, but then I turned 10 and realized that the money has to come from somewhere! :D

Argesia...

Let me guess, you're a [insert political ideal here] and if I don't agree with you that makes me a [insert perceived threat here] allowing you to be free to dismiss everything I say without fear of being ignorant.

amirite?

I used to be fairly free-market and socially authortarian (not conservative). Then oneday I was a communist that was center socially. Now I am a liberal socialist. What's next is anyone's guess.

I used to be a LOT more authoritarian than I am now. I was for the death penalty, for the War on Drugs, against euthanasia, against gay rights for some reason, and even for prohibition and had something of a racist streak. I don't know what the hell I was thinking.

I am 100% against the death penalty now. I am against the War on Drugs. I believe in the right to die. I believe in giving gay folks the same rights as everyone else. I certainly don't think of myself as a racist. And while I personally don't approve of drinking alcohol, I don't favor banning it.

I have also gone from pro-choice to pro-life to a rare moderate on abortion. I have always favored the right to abortion in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger, but I don't favor keeping abortion based on the "right to choose" principle. I favor it based on the idea that banning it is even more problematic than banning alcohol or even hard drugs. It would create more problems than it solves, really.

I use to be a hard-core Communist

I used to be a neo-conservative. That’s right, not just a regular conservative, a neo-con. Now I’m a fairly anti-statist libertarian.

I was about 10 when the 2000 election occured. At the time I thought Bush was the lesser of two evils and that Gore was being whiny about losing Florida. Oh, what a fool child I was...

I also used to think 'gay=bad,' because it was an insult on the schoolyard. Then I thought, "Why?" This led to "How is 'gay=bad' different from 'black=bad'?" This was followed by a quick smack to the forehead and a permanent shift to liberalism- which I was attracted to anyway, since I've always been supportive of honesty in science.

At the moment, I've settled into a sort of pacifist (except in self defense or against genocide) semi-socialism- I think private property is alright, and I think a competitive market is the best way to ensure economic prosperity; however, I also think that companies need restrictions put on them to keep the market competitive, and to make sure that they're not screwing over their employees as occurred in the early 1800s. I also think the government has a responsibility to take care of the poorest elements of society- food, shelter, and health care for all, damn the whiny rich folk!

Believe it or not, but in youth I was a Communist...didn't know much about it, but I proclaimed it wherever I went. I still have an original Chinese PLA hat, and various Soviet Badges..:rolleyes:

Anyways, then I got together with a few older kids who turned out to be AntiFa, and I learned more about what they were after, and I decided that Capitalism isn't that bad.

Then I moved to Australia, where I still occasionally wore the gear, but I didn't believe in it anymore.
And then I enrolled in an Econ Degree, and I've become positively pragmatic these days...still on the left, but far more centre than I used to be.

Things I have learned growing up, politically:

1. Democrats hate me because I'm white.
2. Republicans hate me because I'm poor.
3. Democrats hate me because I'm male.
4. Republicans hate me because I'm anti-authoritarian.
5. Democrats hate me for the same, screw the system ideals.
6. Republicans hate me because I'm not one of their type.
7. Democrats hate me because I'm not one of their type.

So, the next time someone asks me if it's safe to blow up the planet, I'm saying YES.

Because, like, US politics is the only way.

Believe it or not, but in youth I was a Communist...didn't know much about it, but I proclaimed it wherever I went. I still have an original Chinese PLA hat, and various Soviet Badges..:rolleyes:

Anyways, then I got together with a few older kids who turned out to be AntiFa, and I learned more about what they were after, and I decided that Capitalism isn't that bad.

Then I moved to Australia, where I still occasionally wore the gear, but I didn't believe in it anymore.
And then I enrolled in an Econ Degree, and I've become positively pragmatic these days...still on the left, but far more centre than I used to be.
Long live AntiFa! Never hang up your boots :cool:

I was a capitalist when I was a kid. I believed the propaganda, believed that a real free market is the only way to ensure prosperity for all, and that a minimal representative democratic government is the only viable form of leadership. I also believed that nationality was important for some reason. Not that I ever looked down on others, but I think I had this odd notion that nations competing with eachother was somehow beneficial to.. Well I don't rightly know who.

As I grew older, I accidentially found out that there's such a thing as history books, alternative political & economic models, and that killed my belief in nations, capitalism & representative democracies.

These days, anarchists usually call me a conservative, and everyone else calls me an anarchist. Basically I believe we need to stop doing all the shit that obviously doesn't do us any good. Which ever alternative does turn out to work doesn't matter to me, as long as it works.

In middle school I was a moderate-liberal, but after that I've been pretty solidly conservative. I don't know exactly what aused the change. I think it's just the World constantly proving my Hoobesian prejudices to be correct. Depressing, but what're ya gonna do. :(

Lets see...

I'm much more for trickle-down economics now, much less for taxes(though I don't go near as far as libertarians, just on things like welfare, etc).

I'm much more cynical, but who doesn't get that way here?

Its hard for me to say, really, because this site has let me shape my opinions, so Its hard to remember what they really were before I formed a number of them here.

I used to be a christian, rightwing, conservative, pro-lifer.... now I'm an atheist, leftwing, liberal, pro-choicer...

During my teenage years, I supported pure anarchism. Luckily I soon realised it could never really work. These days my political views are really varied, so I couldn't put a label on myself. I suppose the closest I could get is libertarian since I essentially believe in free business but free people too.

Have you ever been to the Polital Compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org). You can work out exactly where your political views fall by ideological definition.

I always used to think I was a centrist. However, while my attitudes to liberty/authority are pretty much middle of the road (with a slight incline to liberty), my economic politics are staunchly left wing. Leaves me in a dilemma in England as there are no local parties who occupy that quadrant, let alone share similar ground.

I used to consider myself a "Republican"

Now, my ideal form of government is the lack thereof...Anarchy.

Too bad humanity is too stupid to ever pull it off. :rolleyes:

I've been anti-necon/republican my whole political life thanks to my hippish father. Then I moved over to Democrat, thus exhausting my political choices when I became disinfranchised with the American two party system during the reign of Bush II. Now I'm settling into the Liberaterian area, as they more suit my beliefs.

Used to be a hawk, but now I'm not. Used to think Communism would work. Currently confused on whether free-trade is good or not, and on that note, I used to think globalization was bad (I hail from Michigan with the lowest unemployment in the Union).

UN has always been a good step, but just needs some rewiring. I used to be indifferent about the EU, but now I think its one of the better things going on in the planet right now.

That's about it.

I used to be a stupid hyper-leftist who really believed all the crap Michael Moore and the like go on about. I even supported aspects of Communism for a brief while, then I started to read the history books and became totally disillusioned with Marxist philosophy.

I'm proud to say my social perspective remains largely unchanged, although I'm far less forgiving to brutal cultural practices these days, I support gay marriage, limited abortion (only for extreme circumstances), regulated gun ownership, legalisation of drugs and no death penalty.

Economically I've been drifting slowly rightward this past year, as I'm seeing the benefits private industry can offer and I've realised many unions are nothing but lazy trouble-makers.

Lets see...

I'm much more for trickle-down economics now, much less for taxes(though I don't go near as far as libertarians, just on things like welfare, etc).

I'm much more cynical, but who doesn't get that way here?

Its hard for me to say, really, because this site has let me shape my opinions, so Its hard to remember what they really were before I formed a number of them here.

Aye, that's something I've noticed- any issues on which my opinion is wavering become rapidly solidified in the face of discussion. That happened to me with abortion and with gun control. Of course, continued hammering and discussion also causes one to examine their own views more in depth- for example, I have (ever so slightly) lightened up on being pro-gun control.

Too bad humanity is too stupid to ever pull it off. :rolleyes:

I don't think that it is a matter of being too stupid, it is just a matter of not having the right settings.

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?

Initially I was a left-liberal, then a reformist socialist, followed by anarcho-syndicalist until i settled on Trotskyism. It was a slippery slope.
I used to be a conservative, then a liberal, then a democratic socialist, until now as an anarchist.

hmmm... interesting trend. I was once a conservative. Today I consider myself a staunch left of centre social liberal, but seriously I can't see myself shifting any further to the left. I will never give up defending people's right to private property. I'm even okay with some Social-Democracy but that's the limit for me.

I will never give up defending people's right to private property.

Out of curiosity, Do you oppose taxation?

As for me, I started out right-wing, but switched to libertarianism as soon as I found out what it was. Even when I was a conservative, it was mostly the small government policies that I liked.

I started out as a reformist communistic conservative, switched to a liberal anarcho-libertarian viewpoint, then changed my fiscal ideology to communal libertarian socialism, and now I've settled on a radically liberal conservative free market anarcho-socialist with progressive libertarian leanings.

For seriously. :D

Out of curiosity, Do you oppose taxation?Not completely, no. I think tax should be as low as possible without having to surrender essencial social programs and services.

Left Liberal. Actually I am willing to bet my Leftist credentials trump those of 99% of the forumites. Leadership in 3 peace and justice orgs one of shich I founded. Unfortuanately I was serious when I said I beleived in liberty and equality. My confederates seemed to want an excuse to get even.

Lets see...I started out as a conservative republican. I remember going to YAF meetings in high school, laughing at the drama kids, calling them "liberal tree huggers" and things like that. Then the influence of the religious right began to get to me. I've been an atheist as long as I can remember, and I began to see that I just couldn't associate with people who allowed religion to dictate government policy. I became a Libertarian in college, and was pretty hard core for a while. Libertarianism works well if you're young, or wealthy. You get the best of both worlds. You get to be against taxes, and get to insist that welfare and the like are terrible things. Also, you get to be for social freedom as well, and can smoke a joint knowing it should be legal.

But recently...I've learned that although there are rare cases of self-made men (Bill Gates, etc), the vast majority of us will never be millionaires. I won't get to own my own business. The system is corrupt, and it doesn't matter that I have a master's degree and am smarter than most of the people in the world. (I speak for all of us since, by being on this forum, I assume you are of at least above-average intelligence) Some dumbass who can play football, or some jackass who's daddy owns a chain of car dealerships will get the supermodel girlfriend, not me. Being a libertarian is nice on paper, but in reality it is missing something.

Yes, I am still opposed to welfare. And I am still very against the drug war. But I am also a patriot, and very pro-Iraq war. The LP is split, but on paper mostly opposes it. So where do I turn to? I have no idea. I still consider myself a libertarian, but not a pure one. Maybe that's part of the problem with the LP- they seem to be purists. "Oh, he's this and that, so he's not a real libertarian." So someone find me a nation that is proud and wants to eradicate terrorists, where I can live my life without religion interfering in it, but where I don't have to give half my crappy salary to the government to pay for welfare. Cause I'm moving.

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?

Initially I was a left-liberal, then a reformist socialist, followed by anarcho-syndicalist until i settled on Trotskyism. It was a slippery slope.


In my 46 years of existence, I have always been a Social Conservative/Fiscal Liberal and will always remain one. I never change my mind on any issue once I have analyzed, re-analyzed and made a choice. I am a perfectionist, statist and a micromanagement kind of person.

I used to believe in free market capitalism, now I am communist.

National Socialism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im and imperialist Parlimentarian with some beliefs in communism

Politically, I'm a convinced base democrat (no that doesn't have anything to do with your democrat party, yankees)
It means: Everyone must have a voice in public matters that matter to him ;)

Economically, I'm Freiwirtschafter. Most likely you have never heard of Freiwirtschaft: Essentially it is a complete economic system and a third way to communism and capitalism. Politically is an anarchist/libertarian economic system, that tries to minimize both government intrusion into the free market and the abuse of poor people by the rich and wealthy
- By preventing the latter from gaining any more income from their wealth on the backs of the poor people.

You can read the english version of the Natural Economic Order, written by Silvio Gesell, HERE! (http://www.systemfehler.de/en/neo/) Even if it probably won't convince your commie pinko ass, it'll teach you one or another thing about how the ecnomical system really works ;)

I used to be an anarchist until I realised, thanks to groups like the Black Panther Party, the EZLN and the Black Army, that the only path for revolution is an organised mass worker's revolution. So, I am Maoist.

Canada6--- one of the most common misconceptions about socialism is that we want to take everyone's private property, take their little house on the hill and their car and so on. No, we don't. We want to have the workers directly in control of their workplaces, rather than a boss who exploits their labour to make a profit.This is not inefficient. In every case of a worker takeover of a factory, the factories and workplaces always run about twice as efficiently than they did with a boss. We have no interest in confiscating everyone's televisions, cd players and houses. What we do with them? Besides, as, in a socialist country, the entire people as a whole are the ruling class, what would the point in confiscating our own gear? I'm not going to poke a gun in my own back and shout "Hand over your Exploited records!". How silly.

Well, I started as a neo-conservative, authoritarian Republican. However, that did not last long, and I started really being interested in "true" conservatism (like conservatism from the Goldwater era--you know, when the Republican party was for small government and limited spending). Then, I found a happy little niche in classic liberalism (after reading some Mises, Rand, Friedman, Hayek, etc.), or modern day libertarianism. I am now even looking into anarcho-capitalism, not really because I think it is possible, but it's just interesting. So right now I'm a right-wing libertarian, and will probably stay that way for a long time.

Oh, and incidentally, my interest in anarcho-capitalism has grown recently after I had dinner with economist David Friedman (son of Milton Friedman), and author of "Machinery of Freedom" which is essentially a book about possible anarcho-capitalist societies and how they would run. It's a really good read for any anarchist, libertarian, or just anyone interested. I highly recommend it.

Canada6--- one of the most common misconceptions about socialism is that we want to take everyone's private property, take their little house on the hill and their car and so on. No, we don't. We want to have the workers directly in control of their workplaces, rather than a boss who exploits their labour to make a profit.This is not inefficient. In every case of a worker takeover of a factory, the factories and workplaces always run about twice as efficiently than they did with a boss. We have no interest in confiscating everyone's televisions, cd players and houses. What we do with them? Besides, as, in a socialist country, the entire people as a whole are the ruling class, what would the point in confiscating our own gear? I'm not going to poke a gun in my own back and shout "Hand over your Exploited records!". How silly.

It is not that socialism is misunderstood. It's that the meaning of socialism has changed from a worker-controlled capitalistic society to welfare statism. I sympathize with some of the orginal concepts of socialism, and actually socialism goes quite well with anarcho-capitalism. Simply put, the workers control all the shares in the firms and industry in general. With no government regulation, and citizen control of corporations it makes for a pretty ideal situation.

I used to think capitalism was good, that the death penalty was fine, and that abortion and sex were wrong, especially if it was gay sex. This was when I first learned of politics. Strangely, though, I never liked Republican politicians.

My views on all those issues have obviously changed quite radically, I quickly became a moderate liberal, and then gradually became more and more far left, until I considered myself a communist, but then i became a bit more moderate. So now I'd say I'm a green-leaning extremist democrat.

So now I'd say I'm a green-leaning extremist democrat.

That's pretty conservative for someone from San Francisco...:p

That's pretty conservative for someone from San Francisco...:p

It is, actually. I'm very far left on most social issues and economic ones, however, people know me as being very anti-immigration, which I am. But that's because the most important issue for me is the enviroment, and my state is already very overpopulated. I don't think it can hold many more without severe environmental degradation.

I'm also not necessarily anti-military. I disagree with how it's being used, but I'm not against having one, and I'm not a pacifist. I'm not someone who thinks everything the US has ever done is wrong. And I'd never hang a US flag upside down, or burn it. Otherwise though, I'm pretty extreme in my leftiness.

And I'd never hang a US flag upside down...
Its accepted to do that if you're in distress, like say a group of angry, motherless terrorists took over your office building, and were threating to something extremly un-American. Although I think most people don't bother to recognize that signal anymore. Burning flags is also accepted, sometimes expected, when they are extremly tattered and have served their duties. That is, after tearing them apart, one strip and star at a time.

What I'm trying to say is, you can do those things without creating a stir or being accused of being unpatriotic. I also took your words totally out of context. Just ignore that, this is a heads up for all the uninitiated. It is sometimes patriotic to do those things.

It is not that socialism is misunderstood.
Exactly, socialism isn't understood. Some groups use the term interchangeably for extreme socialism, i.e. Communism, Leninism, Marxism, etc. Socialism is a very old, people friendly concept, but instead of corporations it was more like equal distribution of foodstuffs and clothing. Great example: early Christianity, and by early Christianity I mean Jesus is still warm off the cross early. Then Marx comes along and romaticises it, and then we have trouble.

It is my opinion that the word facism also has similiar trouble. It is used for every thing considered bad these days, thus people asking, "Is America Facist?" The obvious answer is, no.

I used to support the Democrats, then flirted briefly with authoritarian socialism, then went back to the Democrats, then the Greens, and finally to socialist libertarianism. My views became more left and more libertarian throughout the years.

Its accepted to do that if you're in distress, like say a group of angry, motherless terrorists took over your office building, and were threating to something extremly un-American. Although I think most people don't bother to recognize that signal anymore. Burning flags is also accepted, sometimes expected, when they are extremly tattered and have served their duties. That is, after tearing them apart, one strip and star at a time.

What I'm trying to say is, you can do those things without creating a stir or being accused of being unpatriotic. I also took your words totally out of context. Just ignore that, this is a heads up for all the uninitiated. It is sometimes patriotic to do those things.

.

Yeah, I know old flags are supposed to be 'cremated' in a way, but I think we both know that wasn't what I was talking about, so yeah.

Yeah, I know old flags are supposed to be 'cremated' in a way, but I think we both know that wasn't what I was talking about, so yeah.
I was bored, and still am to be honest, and also said I took your words out of context. Remember, this for the uninitiated masses that don't know, like *looks around room, then whispers* conservatives *end whisper, faces opposite direction and covers mouth with nearby newspaper* that think its wrong to do anything to a flag, even retiring it.

I ued to be a capitalist, then i turned into Dictator Communist Now i am Anarcho-socialist.

I used to be socially liberal, but then I turned 10 and realized that the money has to come from somewhere! :D
Hehehe! :D

I used to be a conservative. That was when conservative meant not spending money like a drunken sailor. And when conservative meant leaving people alone in their own beliefs. And when it meant working with the people of the world in a system of mutual respect.

Somehow, without changing any of my beliefs, I became a "liberal". I don't know how it happened but I know I still believe the same things.

What political ideologies did you have before you arrived upon the one that you are currently revelling in?

Initially I was a left-liberal, then a reformist socialist, followed by anarcho-syndicalist until i settled on Trotskyism. It was a slippery slope.

Could have been worse. You could have embraced Leninism.

I used to believe politicians had integrity and that the principal mover in DC was not money. Oh, callow youth.

I used to be a conservative. That was when conservative meant not spending money like a drunken sailor. And when conservative meant leaving people alone in their own beliefs. And when it meant working with the people of the world in a system of mutual respect.

Somehow, without changing any of my beliefs, I became a "liberal". I don't know how it happened but I know I still believe the same things.

Very good point and excellent post.
Amazing how a whole ideology can be either co-opted or abandoned without anyone ever noticing until it's too late. It's as if Cheney has told all former conservatives that they either moved to wackyland with him and W or be left in the cold and called a liberal. Fuck it. I'm a liberal then. It's time to take back that word from the mantra-spewing spinmeisters and restore its besmirched integrity (and by that I do NOT mean abandoning it and replacing it with "progressive" -- what a load of crap).