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Az
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MACEDONIA - It's the name of the sovereign country to the north of Greece
Apr 2000
time: 07:28
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OK, I am a utilitarian egalitarian technocrat. I believe in preserving nature, since humans enjoy it so much.
I hope for a unification of humanity under a single banner, and the advance of humanity through technology, while retaining our core values, feelings, and looks.
I believe in strong-willed individuals, that work together to achieve a goal.
I believe that men and women are different, but should be treated as equals.
I think humanity's future lies in space.
I believe that people should have children.
I believe in moderate genetical enhancement, that would not change our lifestyles, and the core aspects of life as a human.
what is our goal? to expand, expand, expand. Always, and forever.
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monkspider
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banned
Aug 2001
time: 23:28
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A few people have asked me to explain my philosophical beliefs in detail in the past, and I suppose this is as good as thread as any to do so.
Although I began life as a rightist in the mold of someone like Shi Huangdi, I'm now a socialist-minded individual whose purpose is fairly simple: to help improve the lives of others and to help guide humanity forward in it's evolution toward socialism. An evolution which will take place within the next two decades.
My socialist beliefs are based on the philosophies of great spiritual teachers, most notably Jesus. I see acheiving a degree of spiritual enlightenment that results in global communism as the ultimate purpose of civilization, and life in general. I see Marx and company as more of a hindrance to all of this more than anything. Although I do still greatly admire them for other reasons. Socialism needs no volumes the size of Das Kapital to exist, it only needs this, that people learn to love their neighbors as themselves.
The socialism that will eventually come within the next few years will more closely resemble the Iroquois Confederacy, than say, the Soviet Union. That's not to say that we will all be living in tepees mind you, but it will be based on people learning to willingly live for the betterment of mankind, rather than some sort of scientifically-engineered dictatorship of the proletariot. It will not be a result of a violent revolution, but people growing disenchanted with the old way of doing things and awakening to their true nature, being at one with God.
Well, that is my philosophy. There are times when I question the meaning of this existence, being an impoverished employee of a local fast food establishment, always struggling to make ends meet. I often think that if only I had a bit more wealth, I could do so much more to help things improve. In fact, I must admit that I have even grown frustrated with God sometimes for being cursed with such an wretched condition. But I realize that God has a plan, and there are important lessons that I must learn that I wouldn't have learned growing up as part of a middle-class family. The hope that I might be able to make some sort of small difference someday and knowing that such interesting times are just on the horizon keep me going.
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David Floyd
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The bottom of a large bottle of beer
Jan 1970
time: 05:28
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My political philosophy centers around one concept - individual freedom. This is, to me, the only truly important overriding concept - this isn't to say that religion, for example, is unimportant to individuals, it's just to say that, speaking broadly, freedom is the only thing that matters.
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orange
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It doesn't matter what your name is!
Feb 2000
time: 00:28
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quote:
My political philosophy centers around one concept - individual freedom. This is, to me, the only truly important overriding concept - this isn't to say that religion, for example, is unimportant to individuals, it's just to say that, speaking broadly, freedom is the only thing that matters. |
Funny...my impression was this...
quote:
My political philosophy centers around one concept - property. This is, to me, the only truly important overriding concept...
...it's just to say that, speaking broadly, property is the only thing that matters. |
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David Floyd
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The bottom of a large bottle of beer
Jan 1970
time: 05:28
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quote:
Dave old friend, one day soon you will find out that what you call freedom is actually what holds you in chains. |
That's complete doublespeak. Chains implies restriction. Freedom is the opposite of restriction. Government, regulation, etc., are very synonymous with restriction, and thus chains.
Now, you may not like the outcome in some individual circumstances in a free society - you may not like the fact that some people get rich, for example - but that doesn't mean that anyone is in chains, except, of course, those who try to violate the liberty of others.
If you're speaking in a religious sense, God has given us free will, which to me implies a God-given ideal of freedom - there is a difference between what we CAN do, and what we admittedly OUGHT to do. Forcing people to do what the ought to do is certainly NOT freedom (although my pastor once made an argument similar to that, and I ripped his argument to shreds when my mom tried to reiterate it to me).
So basically, freedom has nothing to do with chains, and freedom is also something that one can argue is granted by God (and thus, natural rights take on a Biblical justification, although there are certainly other justifications - take your pick).
Now, I do notice your semantics - the phrase "what I call freedom" implies that my use of the word "freedom" is incorrect.
You couldn't be further from the truth. Get a dictionary. I guarantee you that the proper English definition and usage of the word "freedom" is much more in line with my ideals that with yours.
From http://dictionary.reference.com
FREEDOM
1. The condition of being free of restraints.
2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.
3. Political independence.
4. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty
5. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition
6. The capacity to exercise choice; free will
SYNONYMS
freedom, liberty, license
These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints.
*****
Now, you were saying?
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Ned
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of Aptos, CA
Oct 1999
time: 21:28
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On foreign policy, I am a hawk. I would use America's power to advance democracy and human rights. I am pro-Israel.
On domestic policy: I am pro-business, but do believe in both the anti-trust and securities laws. I believe business should compete and should be allowed to fail. I am strongly against any form of socialism.
I am pro-family, but I also support Roe v. Wade and woman rights.
I think we need some form of affirmative action to provide equal opportunity. However, I believe that affirmative action should primarily be based on "wealth," not "race."
I am not religious, but I also do not like the constant attacks on the religious by the left.
I have long believed in a voucher system for schools because I believe that competition will work to improve eduction just as it works in business.
I believe in a social safety net and social security. All of us stumble, at times. Some of use do not have the advantages of others.
I believe in a "personal" flat tax above a certain amount necessary to live on with no deductions except "business" deductions. I favor ending corporate income taxes to the extent corporations pay dividends.
I think the 2nd Amendment ought to be repealed. I am not in favor of the death penalty.
I can see decriminalizing pot but not highly addictive drugs.
Since we cannot get rid of prostitution, we should regulate it.
On the whole, I could be either a democrat or a republican. I think the democrat I most closely identify with is Roosevelt. However, I feel that the Democrat party today is socialist and pacifist, two hot buttons for me.
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David Floyd
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The bottom of a large bottle of beer
Jan 1970
time: 05:28
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quote:
Then I could answer to the quote above: maximization of freedom for all implies restriction - laws, rights. |
Absolutely. The restrictions are that you cannot violate the freedom of anyone else. That is, you can't coerce anyone else.
But saying one has the freedom to coerce is ridiculous - freedom and coercion are mutually exclusive.
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cinch
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jul 2002
time: 22:28
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Larry Of Arabia:
quote:
maybe there should be a law which prevents the government from going into debt. |
What should they do during the next major recession/depression?
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David Floyd
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The bottom of a large bottle of beer
Jan 1970
time: 05:28
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For starters, not what FDR did. Completely unconstitutional and immoral.
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cinch
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jul 2002
time: 22:28
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My Political Philosophy:
It's still growing and transforming, but at the moment, I'd have to say I believe in tempered capitalism. Social Democracy. Up with small business, up with Keynesian economics. There are times when taxes need to be raised. Heavy funding to health care and education are wise investments. Try to place the world as a whole ahead of the country whenever possible.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
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Buck Birdseed
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Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan (1988)
Nov 2000
time: 05:28
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I'm a post-socialist. This means I believe society is made up of identity groups competing for power- men vs. women, cultural groups against each other, races, sexualities and classes all trying to achieve more of the power in their relative division. My aim is to create a civic republican society that is set up in such a way as to make sure all of these groups have their fair share of the total power in society, and ultimately co-operate towards the goal of an open, new pluralist society where every identity perspective has a look in.
Maybe you can think of it in terms of the classic Marxist class struggle, but remove the primacy of economics and expand the the definition of haves and have-nots to cover other divisions as well, each with its own closed system. The gay-bisexual-straight system of divisions needs to be considered from a different perspective than the man-woman one, there's no direct split between, say, the upper class and blacks.
I'd consider anyone trying to help the groups with too little power in such systems left wing and anyone trying to help the groups with too much power right wing. Therefore I consider myself extreme left. Most others tend to think of me as weird centre-left, though- advocating a democratic, open, plural society with a wide variety of decision makers and a marked element of citizenship does not square off with many people's definitions of an extreme-left person.
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11-05-2003 11:51
I always break my own rules to see if people notice, and nobody ever does.
Why don''t you read something by Keynes to change your mind. I go with Keynes' idea, Build up a good "safety net" of cash from surpluses and use it in recessions to lessen the impact of unemployment. 
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