What Is Your Political Orientation?

What is your Political Orientation?

  • Marxist-Leninist

    Votes: 2 7.7%
  • Socialist

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Liberal

    Votes: 4 15.4%
  • Neo-Liberal

    Votes: 3 11.5%
  • Conservative

    Votes: 2 7.7%
  • Neo-Conservative

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Fascist

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Libertarian

    Votes: 3 11.5%
  • Anarchist

    Votes: 2 7.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 5 19.2%

  • Total voters
    26
Delighted to see anarchy making a good showing here.
Anarchism

belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion.

I think most people see anarchism as utter chaos. It simply means the abolition of government. I see it as returning to an older period of history when people did things at the local level exclusively with a potent sense of community. Is it practical today? Probably not...

The anarchist's heart is in the right place. He see all the evil done at the hands of governments from Nazi Germany to Stalin's USSR to Bush's conquests and bank bailouts and to Obama's droning and longs to eliminate the dangerous power of big government.
 
This poll proved me wrong on [at least] one account. I once told a group of students that "the term 'neo-liberalism' is derogatory and you won't really find anyone who identifies himself as a neo-liberal." If the votes here were cast in seriousness (who knows), I'd be curious to see how someone defining herself as neoliberal would define that political system, and then compare that to how the term is used by its detractors.

To a degree the same could also be said of 'neo-conservatism,' as there may have been people that called themselves neo-cons 15 years ago, but since the Iraq invasion, it has taken on such a bad name that I'd be surprised to see anyone claiming the title.
 
Having lived for years in Communist Poland and experiencing the day to day existence of its impact on the population, I often ask why self-proclaimed Marxists-Leninists are NOT living in North Korea or Cuba with a passport of those countries stadning in line for the bare basics in life rather than often preaching from those horrible "capitilst" countries?? " Practice what you preech" is my moto!

I often ask myself why self proclaimed neo-liberals are NOT living in Chile (and bore themselves to death)?
And just FYI North Korea is a Stalinist dictatorship - would not be fair to send Leninists there.
 
This poll proved me wrong on [at least] one account. I once told a group of students that "the term 'neo-liberalism' is derogatory and you won't really find anyone who identifies himself as a neo-liberal." If the votes here were cast in seriousness (who knows), I'd be curious to see how someone defining herself as neoliberal would define that political system, and then compare that to how the term is used by its detractors.

To a degree the same could also be said of 'neo-conservatism,' as there may have been people that called themselves neo-cons 15 years ago, but since the Iraq invasion, it has taken on such a bad name that I'd be surprised to see anyone claiming the title.
Yes I have the same feeling. I actually ran a poll on who is a neoliberal and even though it is clear that a large number of the members have neoliberal views - none wanted to be called a neoliberal:

neoliberal_572825.jpg


It's analogous to how the Republicans in the US have made the word liberal a dirty word and liberals avoid labeling themselves as such.
 
Another interesting term is "Libertarian". In Europe the term means an anarcho-syndicalist, thus many who participated in the Spanish Civil War called themselves "Libertarian Socialists," where the emphasis was on social unity to overcome all forms of concentrated power, such as nation states or large corporations/capital conglomerates.

Meanwhile, in the last few decades the term "Libertarian" has taken on almost the exact opposite meaning in North America: a rejection of any type of socialism or community, which are seen as limiting personal freedom.

I guess the take away is that all of these terms are very nebulous and subject to manipulation by propaganda systems. "Democrats" inevitably fight against democracy, "liberals" fight against freedoms, "communists" install fascist dictatorships, "libertarians" favour a system with less liberty... Maybe Pitipur and the Violent Femmes are right that "other" is the only possible answer.
 
Neo-Liberals and Neo-Conservatives are both the same once you get past the rhetoric. Both subscribe to the same doctrine of Amerikan Exceptionalism, both practice a foreign policy of military intervention, just with different BS routines to excuse/rationalise it.

Pat Buchanan is the last surviving Classic Conservative in US politics at the national level, the last to heed the words of George Washington. But he's also a racist, sexist dinosaur, just so we're clear on that...

And Liberal is a dirty word in US politics because Americans still suffer from the vestiges of anti-Communist paranoia.
 
I too answered 'other', labels create boxes that usually don't really fit our beliefs.
I find the older I get the less I know, or maybe its more accurate to say the more I know that I don't know.
For instance I used to think that things like 'free markets' and vote with your wallet or your feet made sense. Seeing how people line up to get groped by TSA and keep on flying I think those ideas have failed.
No answers here, just more questions, everyday.
 
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