The easiest way to describe my politics is that I disagree with almost everything that the Republican party stands for. I'm socially liberal, believe that there's nothing wrong with homosexuality and that drug use needs to be legalized (and addiction treated as a medical and not a criminal problem). I can agree with Libertarians on their issues of individual rights, but it stops at gun control. I've progressively gotten more and more rabid about gun control and feel that outside of the military they should all be rounded up and melted down and shouldn't be sold anymore. Not even an exception for hunting.
As far as the military is concerned, I don't know that we've had a just war/intervention since WWII. Korea and Vietnam were about taking over (or bombing into the stone age so that nobody else could have them) the emerging asian economies, and had little to do with the stated reasons about communism. The whole fiasco in the Gulf for the past 12-13 years has been entirely due to our need to control oil. And I wrote something up about how I feel about Israel, but figured it would probably wind up getting this whole post censored, so I skipped it...
Economically, I suffer under capitalism and tolerate it. In deference to most of my leftist collegues, though, I would rather be in the capitalist class than in the proliteriate, and therefore I'm trying to educate myself in how the economy and the stock market work. I've actually opened up an ameritrade account for myself just like a good little capitalist. Having said that, though, I feel what we really need is a democratic workforce that eliminates the distinction between worker and boss and stockholder. Managers should come from the rank and file, and should not be paid exorbitatantly. All employess should hold considerable stock in the company. There should be no external stockholders, and the stock markets should be abolished in favor of bonds (which will probably lead to more stable economies because then the stock market wont be constantly inflating bubbles out of nothing). If companies need to raise money they should issue corporate debt and then pay that debt off. It is a fantasy right now but I feel that democratically run corporations is the next step after democratically run governments. I feel that we're still in a stage economically similar to the stage that we were in politically when we were living under feudalism. And, of course, I'm sure I'm going to get reactions from the "Fiscal Conservatives" on this board similar to the reaction you'd have gotten then trying to explain democratic political institutions to a feudal lord.
I believe in social programs and the social safety net. I don't believe that we're such a resource poor country that we couldn't guarantee every single person a minimum standard of shelter, food and healthcare. I'm in favor of universal health care.
I don't know where else to take this. One unique feature of my politics is that I'm generally embarassed by most of my liberal associates because of the typically bankrupt philosophy that they use to justify their beliefs. Most conservatives don't have any difficulty flaying the typical liberal position. Most of the time any conservative tries to take a shot at a postition that I support they invariably destroy a position which I view to be a red herring and not what I believe in at all -- which just goes to show you the poor quality of argument that they've gotten from liberals in the past.
I've also gotten into so many political arguments on the net in the past 13 years, that I no longer find it worth my time to make 20 posts a day for weeks at a time in a futile attempt to try to beat my point into someone and get the final word. At this point in my debating career on the net, I'd much rather just lob handgrenades and then watch the shrapnel fly...
