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Cossie, you know how to build a girl up, then knock her down. Okay, an example of each. The nanny state which emanates from the left and tries to interfere in people's lives and the way they think. The attempt not tell people how to live, but to give them real choice and to govern them in the minimal way (viz Switzerland) is an example from the right.
I note that you ask for a couple of, ie two examples, and I trust these suffice. The frustration for me is that I have to wait twenty-four hours for your repley.
Hugs
N
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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There's almost no correalation between Left / Right and Libertarian / Authoritarian.
Try the test on http://www.politicalcompass.org/
Examples shamelessly lifted from there would be:
Stalin - left authoritarian
Thatcher - right authoritarian
Friedman - right, mildly libertarian
Gandhi - left, mildly libertarian
Not unexpectedly, I come out further to the left, and also a lot more libertarian, than Gandhi.
The view that a concern for individual liberties is a concern only of the right fails to do justice to a long and proud school of thought, from Anarcho-syndicalism to Mutualism. Most recently, the flourishing of the "Open Source Software" can be seen as an example of left libertarian principles in operation.
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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marc
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Needs to get a life! |
Registered: March 2003
Messages: 4729
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what does that make Bush......
Ohh Ohh I know,,,,,,,
The center of the rim.....
Life is great for me... Most of the time... But then I meet people online... Very few are real friends... Many say they are but know nothing of what it means... Some say they are, but are so shallow...
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I looked at the first page of the test and found it impossible to answer the questions by ticking a box. They are discussion topics. Because I hadn't ticked the boxes the test wouldn't let me go to the second page.
In my lifetime the Conservative Party has so often been the progressive party while the Labour Party has been the reactionary one.
Hugs
N
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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cossie
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On fire! |
Location: Exiled in North East Engl...
Registered: July 2003
Messages: 1699
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Hi, Nigel!
I'm inclined to agree with NW's comments; you're assigning a characteristic to the left-right political spectrum that doesn't really relate to that spectrum.
In the Thatcher years, I was involved with the political consequences of her actions, and my instinct was to strangle her!
You'll have gathered by now that I'm not a card-carrying member of the Labour party, and I'm not happy with many of its policies and actions, but I am firmly convinced that the Thatcher administration did serious damage to our national economy by obsessively reducing direct taxation. Direct taxation is inherently fairer than indirect taxation, since the amount payable is directly associated with the ability to pay. Political parties in the UK can achieve nothing unless they achieve a majority in the polls, and nothing is more likely to erode support than the perception that a given party is likely to increase income tax. Hence, Thatcher's irresponsibility leaves us as a low-tax economy (which despite tabloid fervour we undoubtedly are) and depresses the rate of investment in our infrastructure.
As regards the nanny state - well, that's another buzzword. I believe that, in a truly socialist economy, some things should be freely available. I would include medical care (including care for aged persons), prescription charges, university tuition fees and all other educational charges. I believe - absolutely - that in these fields no-one should be a second-class citizen for want of wealth.
On the other hand, I don't agree with what I regard as a politically correct policy, that unmarried mothers should automatically be entitled to housing and other benefits. I think I'm well-qualified to comment, as I grew up among the 'have nots', and I am personally aware of many cases where girls have actively sought pregnancy as a means of getting accommodation away from the parental home - and have then failed to display adequate parental skills themselves while potentially excellent parents find that they have an almost negligible chance of adoption.
And take such a shibboleth as nationalisation; I'm not wedded to the left-wing ideals, but the Conservative attempts at privatisation were derisory.
Quite apart from such scandals as the loss of much of our water industry to foreign conglomerates, the dismemberment of public transport has been risible. I can remember a time when public transport in Tyne and Wear was fully co-ordinated; you travelled from point A to point B for a fare determined simply by distance, regardless of the number of changes you needed to make en route. All that was swept away.
In a nutshell, I support sensible and well thought out policies, regardless of the party from which they originate, but my firm and unshakeable belief in the importance of equality of opportunity means that I'm likely to remain well to the left of centr on the spectrum of political thought.
For a' that an' a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That man tae man, the worrld o'er
Shall brithers be, for a' that.
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cossie, I want to reply to this, but give me a little time as November is for me the busiest month of the year and I am already behind with things. I may be able to reply later today. It depends. And I shall start a new thread.
Hugs
N
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
…and look forward to meeting you in Cóito.
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OK. I took the test. I came out as -3.25 on the left-right axis and -3.64 on the tough-soft axis. I think that puts me somewhere on an exis between Mahatama Ghandi and Nelson Mandela.
But I found that there is a flaw in this test. It was very difficult for me to answer some of the questions because they posit a political ambience that is different from the one in which I live. Therefore, because I answered honestly, I suspect that this spoiled my score and I should have been "softer" than I came out.
In my country the political divides are products of the situation: there is a hawk-dove axis; a (perceived) belong-outsider axis; a welfare state-Thatcherist axis; and a religious-secular axis. But most people would fall into the hawk-outsider-Thatcherist-religious camp or the dove-belong-welfare state-secular camp.
Incidentally, how were the results obtained for those who are dead? Did people like Tony Blair take this test or are these just guesses?
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
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No Message Body
[Updated on: Wed, 21 November 2007 18:41] |
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This link is currently showing as number 3 on the Most Read stories on the BBC web site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6507971.stm
At the bottom it says:
Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America is on Sunday at 2100BST on BBC Two
Aha, thought I. I'll post the link and suggest people watch the documentary. So I did.
Then I noticed:
Last Updated: Friday, 30 March 2007, 10:39 GMT 11:39 UK
Quite why an eight month old article would be the third most popular on the site I have no idea. At least the transcript of the interview might be useful (unless someone has posted it already). Or have we already discussed the documentary?
David
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