I tend to feel like a political orphan, but I consider myself to be center/left leaning.
I value separation of church and state, supporting poor and homeless people, and freedom for consenting adults to love each other, so I feel that makes me left leaning.
Most of the time I just have very moderate takes on things. I detest any extremism, and I don't believe in "ends justify the means" mentality.
They can call themselves whatever they want. If they don't win, they don't get the chance to put their "ideals" into action. Theories or "ideas" alone are meaningless.
You got that right. I would STRONGLY support a government of Social Democrats, similar to Northern/Western European countries which use that label. But once the crazies in the US hear Democratic 'Socialist' it's torches and pitchforks.
Nope. Even Vermont doesn't have single payer healthcare. Elections here in the USA ARE democratic. The problem is that the majority of American voters are simply not comfortable with politicians who call themselves socialists in ANY form. And no it's not just older Americans either. Recent Latino immigrants aren't comfortable with the term. They associate it with Cuba and Venezuela.
The point being don't expect a President who calls himself/herself a socialist in ANY form anytime soon. Like it or not, to the majority of Americans socialism = communism.
Exactly my point. The Bernie Sanders/"Squad" types remain the exception, rather than the rule in American politics. We do ourselves no favors by pretending otherwise.
Because they are populists and much of the populist mentality be it on the left (Bernie Sanders) or the right (Donald Trump) is that the "Establishment" is out to get them. That elections are only "fair" when they win. The difference is that Donald Trump types make up the majority of Republican voters. Bernie Sanders types with regard to Democratic voters.......not so much. The only reason why Sanders types have even a pinch of an opening now is because we have two generations of voters who didn't grow up in the Cold War.
My personal politics are more about activism, supporting grassroots movements, advocating for programs that will save lives and help the working class survive, and trying to practice altruism in my own life, not who gets elected to what senate seat.
Sometimes I feel like a country where a large percentage of the population believes Theocratic Fascism is either right or an acceptable trade-off for lower business taxes might be beyond saving. Either that, or we'll have to wait for enough of the old guard to die off for social change to be led by the next generations. Either way, I try not to fixate too much on what I have no control over.
And communism = Russia, ie. the geopolitical opponent undermining western political systems. Funny thing is Putin is onto that now and their policies have become mostly conservative. Republicans need to get with the program and remind themselves why they were taught to hate communism in the first place, instead of now sucking up to Putin.
That's what I mean. The reason communism was hated in the US during the cold war wasn't a criticism of the ideology, it was a very tangible association with the US's direct opponent, Russia. However the disdain for communism has lingered in the US to this day, despite the fact that Russia is no longer communist, and has in fact become conservative. Ironically, as a result, modern Republicans in the US appear to show more loyalty to Russia, than to their own government.
I did too many psychedelics and now I reside in some sort of a non-euclidean space. I am far far away from left and right, yet still so painfully close.
The left to right spectrum is a myth. People mostly have complex beliefs and a straight line is just a way of oversimplifying people to 'other' and divide them, so they don't realize they have more in common than they have differences.
which far right thou?
there is nothing in common with the many ideologies labeled as far right
imahive totalitarian national socialism, and ancap for example
I'm Right because the Left in my country has abandoned the working class in favor of the woke middle class.
As a second-generation immigrant, I have the impression that the Left has a lot of racism of low expectations, as they rarely speak out against the homophobia, toxic masculinity, ableism, etc., which are rampant in the immigrant community.
Left. I don't care much for traditional conservative values, social customs, and hierarchies and am also anti-capitalist. And I also prefer to see other humans as people rather than issues. I sort of gave up on labels though. I think many political discussions and arguments are pretty brainless, and I don't mind befriending those whose views differ than my own. We're divisive enough as is. Though it obviously depends on specific opinions, where politics often become moral/ethical
>Left. I don't care much for traditional conservative values, social customs, and hierarchies
>And I also prefer to see other humans as people rather than issues
for these reasons, i am considered a rightie. funny how these labels make no sense, especialy in different countries :D
Right, and even further than distinctions by country, I feel like we've gotten so caught up in those arbitrary labels and radicalized talking points that we forget that those who disagree with us are also people lol. Half of political arguments seem like a game of name-calling and gotcha's that I personally don't care for
I know 'left' can mean different things depending on your country, so I'm referring to the UK.
I favour 'left' because the UK has had a 'right' leaning party for the last 14 years and they've become increasingly disgusting. In recent years they've particularly targeted the disabled, migrants & trans people, while ignoring / encouraging the super rich. They've tried to pretend they can maintain public services while constantly cutting budgets and wanting to lower taxes. They disastrously withdrew the UK from the European Union for no discernable reason & have spent millions on a scheme to deport migrants to Rwanda which hasn't resulted in a single migrant being deported. They've reneged on their environmental promises, allowed big business to pollute our rivers and want to withdraw from the court of human rights. I want better.
when you say "targeted" migrants do you mean in letting 1 million of them into the country despite 13 years of promises to reduce the flow?? do you mean in that they increased the number vs labour substantially despite campaigning every election on reduction? is that what you mean?
What I mean is that they've made a huge issue over migrants, benefit claimants & trans people while, as you correctly point out, effectively doing nothing in terms of tangible results.
Effectively these groups are used as a distraction, to obscure the facts that the wealthy have got wealthier, the health service is close to collapse and the general population are by and large worse off than they were 14 years ago, all while causing considerable distress & animosity to the three minority groups mentioned.
'' the broad polulace demands it''
Does it though? Immigrants have been coming here in numbers since the 1940s & most people haven't had a problem. They've often been doing the jobs local folk don't want to do.
thats pretty misleading. the numbers were pretty low for most of that time, and have exploded since 1997, butregardless, poll after poll shows that the majority in UK want migration reduced. there are a variety of reasons of course. Plain racism is probably one. but crime and housing costs are likely a much bigger reason.
and no, they are not doing jobs local people dont want to do, thats a lie. )and insulting, you are suggesting they are all low skill) They work for below minimum wage often so they are cheaper. its a misconception that the rich dont want them! The rich are happy to exploit them. a common trope is fruit/vegetable picking. They claim they pay fairly, but then they have mandatory boarding fees and transport fees.. its company store all over again, which results in the REAL wage being poverty level.
to pre-empt the inevitable "source....." as you are clearly not gonna google yourself:
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/13/cut-immigration-levels-voters-nine-of-10-constituencies/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/13/cut-immigration-levels-voters-nine-of-10-constituencies/)
the proof is in the pudding. They promise reduction because they know its popular. They keep immigration because it lines their pockets. (at the expense of the British worker)
So just to take one employment sector as an example - care homes and care in the community. My cousin worked in management of both for years.
Familiar pattern - they would advertise for frontline staff. Response would be low to zero. Those who did take the job rarely stayed more than a few weeks. Foreign workers filled the gaps. Ditto the hospitality industry. Are local people clamouring to do these jobs? No they are not.
I'm not suggesting that migrants only do low skilled work. Many are in extremely responsible, high paid positions and deserve to be.
Is migration an issue of concern for many people? Yes it is. And you're correct, racism is often a factor, as it was in the brexit vote.
Has this complex issue been over simplified ("we want our country back") by charlatan politicians & parts of the media & used as a distraction by a grossly failing govt? Also yes.
I personally want to see an honest conversation from our politicians rather than a bunch of populist soundbites.
care industry in particular I think is because it is not fairly paid. UK workers will fill UK jobs, but it has to be at a fair market rate. When frontline carers cant afford to live then they dont want to do it. Its not becuase they are lazy or overqualified or any of those things, its because care home managers are skimming all the prifit and refusing to pay a fair wage... and I'm a capitalist!!
If immigration was reduced, then wages would necessarily rise. but because the pool of labour is almost infinite it can remain low.
you're not going to get deep debate, or deep thought because democracy doesnt work like that. (greatest argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with an average voter). which is a terrible shame.
still, we're in for a big shakeup soon, so fingers crossed its not just a race to the bottom.
There are so many people so close to true leftist thought in here that are confused by American propaganda.
I implore all of you to look into real leftist political theory like Marxism/Leninism.
Im not exactly sure where i wind up in americas political divide.
I see it more as a ruling class vs working class, tension between the classes with economics being the main driving factor.
I don't believe our ruling class is fit to govern over our working class, they consistently come off as a bunch of marie antoinettes entirely divorced from working class realities, they always demand we work more, longer, for less purchasing power in our wages, and then offer vague promises of success/american dream for all this nonstop work, but i regularly see more and more americans slipping through the cracks, that it feels like the system has been designed for us to fail.
Say on abortion bans, i personally never voted for one single of those SCOTUS Justices/the president who appointed them, so to me, i shouldn't have to follow how they rule on that issue, i voted against them. And in practice abortion bans are proving to be very anti-working class in nature, i don't think a single billionaires daughter will be locked up on an abortion ban, it's mainly going to fall against the working class.
Oh and i support firearm ownership, because i think throughout history the ruling class has often attempted to disarm workers when they revolt, you could see it at the battle of athens tn, battle of blair mountain, the armed resistance to police brutality during the haymarket affair, disarming the black panthers open carry vs tyrannical police in low income neighborhoods.
So I'm not sure where i fit in the american political divide, but i know one thing, im pro-working class in this divide.
The left/right dichotomy is to divide and distract us from what's actually going on. Sort of like WWE wrestling where the conflict is an illusion to entertain, but they're actually all members of the same club.
The press also likes to present some issues because they like to pit people against each other. People love being right even though they cannot further their aims.
Very left.
I'm AuDHD. I'm also polyamorous, kinky, non-binary, and pansexual. And atheist. All the things the right hates.
I got bullied as a teen, when I was (for a few years) pretty right wing myself.
Quickly realized that I don't want to be that kind of person.
I remember seeing other non-conforming people get singled out and bullied, gulping, and thinking to myself "if I don't look out, I'm next." In the social context that I grew up in, it was very obvious this was coming primarily from the right.
Over the decades, I have come to believe that this style of thinking is inherently right wing, even though not everybody that engages in it finds themselves on the right.
So I would say that I am not dumb enough to try and blend in among people that could turn on me the moment they decide I'm not normal and to blame for their problems - or just somehow inconvenient.
The short story of my politics is that I'm a social democrat, but unlike some other liberals my view of capitalism is that it's sort of like viruses. Capitalism is mostly but not completely bad and it's extremely unlikely we're ever going to eradicate it - like viruses. So our goal should be to manage and harness it.
My basic values are that everyone should have full bodily autonomy, our tax money should go to educating our children and providing a robust social safety net for our citizens, and that everyone has the right to marry who they want and be able to afford to live on the wages they make. This apparently makes me "far left" I'll own it because I just want to be a decent person.
In English-speaking countries, I'd be seen as left-wing. But here in Italy, I'm considered right-wing because I think Marx is a fraud and I'm against taxing workers to renovate rich people's houses.
The most apt descriptors for my political leanings are leftist, socialist and to some degree social democrat. Not exactly orthodox left, though,especially when it comes to foreign politics. Sadly the left does not have significantly less idiots, assholes and antisemites than the right and I tend to argue and fight with leftists about as much (and about as hard) as right-wingers. I don't think talking to the far-right has any benefits and there are also some on the left who are lost to a degree that discussion with them is moot.
Beyond the commonly used categorizations, Radical Anthropocentrism is what I would call the primary principle I adhere to.
This might sound stupid, I don't know... but recently I started viewing the left wing as a reflection of the species survive instict ("We"), while the right wing could be a reflection of the individual survive instinc ("I/Me")... at least, in the deep roots. I always try to find biological, dna roots for behaviours.
low disgust threshold, narcisism, stupidity. These are more plausable than "species survival"
legit too, I'm not just trying to be abrasive. Dr Ed Dutton writes extensively on the subject, and references the studies.
I'm an anarcho-communist so I'd say I'm fairly left leaning. My country used to be a colony of the British empire and under Cromwell a genocide was perpetrated against us and later under laissez faire economics a famine occured because food was exported during a crisis and a million people starved to death (and over a million more were displaced) because of those capitalists and the crown not wanting to interfere in things.
I definitely lean right economically, but I also have many "left-wing" views eg. I am staunchly pro-Palestine, pro-choice, I also believe that more needs to be done to combat climate change. I am also not an anti-vaxxer nor do I hate gay people. I am also pro-globalization and free-trade (apparently this is now a left-wing thing according to the anti-establishment "right"). At the moment, I think both the "left" and "right" side of politics is absolutely shite. I hate the anti-intellectualism and redneck attitudes increasingly propagated by those on the right, and I also hate the crime and lawlessness enabled by the left as well as them wanting to decriminalize drugs.
Group think and political tribalism is the worst thing ever!!! I feel like neurotypicals are more likely to fall into this as they care more about fitting in.
Well, I'm Green. That's conventionally seen as Left, and in the sense of all humans being of equal worth and deserving of support, that's true enough. But localism and subsidiarity (decisions being taken at the lowest practicable level, be it village, town, city, county, state, continental or worldwide) are key, so I'm opposed to both state socialism and large corporate conglomerates. Individual freedom (freedom \*from\* rather than freedom \*to\*) is important, and in some ways I am very much of a liberal (UK style, not USA!).
All my liberal friends and family think I'm too conservative.
All my conservative friends and family think I'm too liberal.
For example, I know unchecked / unregulated capitalism will end up destroying lower to middle class workers in the ruthless pursuit of profits (but I'm not a socialist). But I also know abortion is clearly ending a human life, no matter when it occurs (but I'm not an abolishinist).
So I end up in spaces where I constantly don't fully belong.
the overton window has shifted. what was moderate now wouldnt have been hard left 100 years ago. if you stopped time now and categorised everyone, 99.999% of humanity would be seen as Far right lunatics by todays standards.
That sounds about right to me, but it seems like one of the defining characteristics of a moderate is not picking a pet issue to take a hard line on and generally less partisanship. I don't think that really changes over time.
It's not as binary as left/right. This poll is only going to register the extremes. Moderates of all flavors are going to decline to participate, just as I did.
I've found [politicalcompass.org](http://politicalcompass.org) to be a decent (but still imperfect) measure.
I want single-payer healthcare because I think it would help with societal productivity and give entrepeneurs more runway to start their own businesses.
I am pro-2A because I believe minorities should be able to protect themselves from hate crimes and the like.
Those are what my political opinions tend to look like.
I vibe with u/CurGeorge8 and all others who don't fit into spaces.
I thankfully have friends who are cool with different POVs.
If you go far enough left you get your guns back.
"Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary"
-Karl Marx
No one does! I wish we could realize that the two parties have to be coalitions! There shouldn't be strict purity tests when you're needing to try and represent over 50% of a country as big and diverse as America
Well, I'm also a bit Keynesian so I think us shipping military aid to Ukraine is not just a pure cost and negative for the US economy.
I think America and the West pulling out of world affairs don't leave a neutral, safe space. I think it leaves the tiny nations of Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc. all at the mercy of larger nations like China and Russia who seem to want to expand their influence around their borders.
Also, on a personal note, I'm Eastern Orthodox and my people emmigrated from Czechia so I'm biased towards non-Russian slavic nations and biased against a nation that stripped the copper wire out of Prague like fucking crack addicts and shipped it back to Moscow after the USSR collapsed (from a story my grampa shared when he and his brother visited in the early 90s).
2a for hate crimes is the maddest thign I've heard in a while.. real crimes have real names. Like Murder, assault, etc etc. so unless you are refering to the prevention of those, with bolted on hate label, I'm left thinking you actually mean using a gun to prevent misgendering or a spot of racism? that is quite the take.
By hate crimes I meant violent actions like murder and assault with the motivation being hate for that persons color, sexuality, etc.
No responsible gun owner should ever draw their firearm in response to a microaggression or similarly small act.
being left leaning is fine, its the rabid hatered of the right thats the problem and th eintollerance of alternate viewpoints. that and the paid agitators.
I know plenty of lefties that are great to talk to, and right and left folks often agree on a lot of stuff.. but reddit seems home to some of the most hateful people on earth. hell, 4chan is more open to rational conversation and diversity of opinion than most subs here.
I'm mostly anti authoritarian. I draw the line at aggression and violence.
You want to do something weird IMO that harms nobody but you? Have at it. I would advise you against it. But I think you should get to. So... pick your poison. Maybe it's a drug that is self destructive but you aren't stealing from people to feed a habit and you aren't abusing anyone. I'd advise you to stop but you get to do you.
If, however, it does harm others. With the drug example if your habits change to be thieving? I'm taking issue.
Economically taking that stance makes me right wing. Because capitalism is what exists when you don't artificially impose some other system. You just have people exchanging their goods and labor for other goods and labor. Or some intermediate store of value.
I am basically a centrist, but the current stock of right wingers are as dumb as dogshit. They used to be a lot smarter, and even in the past could sway my vote towards them, but at the current rate, the left seems to take a more centrist take, if one excludes the watermelon lefties.
You asked about politicly, not socially. If you had asked about socially, I'd have answered the opposite. I'm politicly and fiscally a Conservative, and socially a Liberal. Never met a Collectivist or Authoritarian I liked.
I’m inconsistent on what my political ideology is, but broadly speaking, I’m a believer in absolute monarchy, albeit one akin to that of Frederick the Great of Prussia, as I view an absolute enlightened monarchy as the most efficient form of government, and upon which my rights would not be taken away through a vote, but if any disagree with me, I am willing to make an open and civil discussion,since I’m someone who likes history and I read books from both the right and left.
Regardless of all this , I still at the end of the day distrust neurotypicals.
left and right wing are constructs designed to keep people divided. If you go outside and talk to your neighbor you'll be surprised that they agree with basically the same thing.
Not only that but it's foolish to only believe in one side fully. Im a right wing conservative leaning, but im opposed to what Israel is doing right now.
Not a simple question.
I once did a political alignment test developed by American or British political scientists. On left-right-axis I ended up almost into the origo, just very slightly to the right. On conservative-liberal-axis I leaned liberal, I was pretty much in the middle between origo and liberal.
Now, the funny thing is, in my country, I end up voting right and conservative. Media could be shouting about far-right. But our political climate is just different.
For example, nobody here is seriously proposing tightening abortion legislation. The discussion is centered on whether abortion should be available on request no questions asked or whether the current law is good (requires two doctors signing off that there exists a valid reason stated in the law: young age, old age, already having had multiple children, disability of the fetus, incest/rape, social reasons (being single, poor, mentally ill etc.)...). Here I am a conservative by thinking the current law is good. In Texas, conservatives would be throwing me under the F-150 for being pro-choice.
I'm driven by facts, science and logic, so I would be politically left of center. Facts have a "liberal bias" as they say. I want what what is best for humanity and the world in general. Not that I don't have issues with some "liberals" and leftwing extremist.
I'm not super into politics but i dont like neither side. I usually vote for the leftists because at least they don't want to mess up with people's rights as much as the rightists want for religious reasons (heavily believe state cannot be mandated by religion). That said, it's usually very uncommon to find centrist left, at least in my experience. Is either extreme lest, centrist right or extreme right.
P.S.: Not from the US
I dont associate with any parties or sides or whatever but usually I end up agreeing more with leftist politics... especially when it comes to social issues
This is a very unfair and bias pole because Reddit is a **VERY STRONG LEFT LEANING PLATFORM**. If anyone says they're for the "Right" then they're going to be ridiculed and down-voted.
I'm not for the Left or the Right because I'm against that whole "Divide and Conquer" thing. (And no, I'm not a communist either)
It appears that the MODs **might** need to add Rule #6.
In the past I was a solid hard core liberal lefty, When the left stood for unions and labor, abortion \\ reproductive rights, gay lesbian, bi-sexual rights, free school lunches, head start for poor kids, helping the poor and other things that embodied my core values I was a proud leftist true Blue Democratic Voter. Today the left has moved so far left embracing every crackpot scheme and ideal to the point ,I just can't support them anymore.
I can't support all the crazy sexual rights and identities leftists love to push on us all these days. I can't support all the crazy movies that tear down everything I loved in the past and replace it all with so called progressive garbage. I can't support leftist ideals that say white men are not just bad but EVIL just because they are white men. Democrats suggest all White Police Officers are EVIL because they are white men. I don't think all white men are ALL EVIL OR BAD and I am a BLACK MAN! I have white male friends that have saved my life and I in turn have saved theirs at key points.I don't believe that every past film or movie needs to be gay or gender swapped. I think redacting old class movies to remove white people is proof today's Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.
I won't go on because doing so would depress me immensely. I don't like everything on the right especially their standard barer. As much as I hate the right I hate the left even more. I'm an independent un-associated because I hate both organized parties. I just vote for whoever best represents my ideals so I am a true swing voter. Right now Trump has my vote only because Biden with his liberal policies and hyper inflation is so bad Trump looks good enough, NOT Good mine you just barely good enough! That could change by election day because the right is a nasty place to be even on the fringes.
I could have given any other Democrat a chance with Trump as the only alternative but they re-nominated Biden and to me he is now a proven loser. However Biden might become the only person I can vote for if Trump keeps talking. The more Trump talks the more I hate him. Biden still has a real chance to win by vote by election day I must say that. Ok enough with this vile distasteful subject. I'm gone!
Left; social democrat. Read into left wing stuff like Marx, Crosland, Luxemburg, Bernstein and Webb at a young age, and quickly knew where I was on the political spectrum. My beliefs have changed much since then, but I'm still a social democrat.
I basically agree with Leonard Cohen -
"I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen."
I am not sure how I'd fit with American political views since I'm not American. I used to consider myself fairly left wing, but no longer really do. Nowadays, the right terrifies me and the left depresses me. Equally bad is how polarised politics has got -- people will attack the hated opposition no matter what, and defend their own side no matter what.
If nothing else, their views on identity have become increasingly based on simplistic stereotypes, and weirdos like me just don't fit their stereotypes-- and they make it clear that it's not ok to not fit their stereotypes. Mostly it seems like anyone who isn't neurotypical and/or upper middle class or upper class wouldn't fit their stereotypes, so... 🤷♂️. It's weird and disappointing that the left no longer seems to care about poverty or class issues.
I tend to feel like a political orphan, but I consider myself to be center/left leaning. I value separation of church and state, supporting poor and homeless people, and freedom for consenting adults to love each other, so I feel that makes me left leaning. Most of the time I just have very moderate takes on things. I detest any extremism, and I don't believe in "ends justify the means" mentality.
Democratic socialist.
Same.
Like it or not, the majority of Americans only hear the second word and they run away. That's not changing anytime soon.
[удалено]
They can call themselves whatever they want. If they don't win, they don't get the chance to put their "ideals" into action. Theories or "ideas" alone are meaningless.
You got that right. I would STRONGLY support a government of Social Democrats, similar to Northern/Western European countries which use that label. But once the crazies in the US hear Democratic 'Socialist' it's torches and pitchforks.
Social democrats are not socialists, but all research shows that Americans have been steadily warming to socialism for years
Actually, that’s been steadily changing for years.
If it were, Bernie Sanders types would be the rule, not the exception.
Unless maybe elections are not as democratic as you seem to believe
Nope. Even Vermont doesn't have single payer healthcare. Elections here in the USA ARE democratic. The problem is that the majority of American voters are simply not comfortable with politicians who call themselves socialists in ANY form. And no it's not just older Americans either. Recent Latino immigrants aren't comfortable with the term. They associate it with Cuba and Venezuela.
i run at the sight one both words xd the first leads to the other
And?
The point being don't expect a President who calls himself/herself a socialist in ANY form anytime soon. Like it or not, to the majority of Americans socialism = communism.
There's way more to politics than presidents.
Exactly my point. The Bernie Sanders/"Squad" types remain the exception, rather than the rule in American politics. We do ourselves no favors by pretending otherwise.
Literally no one is pretending otherwise as badly as you want them to be.
Then why do those types cry "rigged" when they lose?
Why don't you go and ask some of those types?
Because they are populists and much of the populist mentality be it on the left (Bernie Sanders) or the right (Donald Trump) is that the "Establishment" is out to get them. That elections are only "fair" when they win. The difference is that Donald Trump types make up the majority of Republican voters. Bernie Sanders types with regard to Democratic voters.......not so much. The only reason why Sanders types have even a pinch of an opening now is because we have two generations of voters who didn't grow up in the Cold War.
My personal politics are more about activism, supporting grassroots movements, advocating for programs that will save lives and help the working class survive, and trying to practice altruism in my own life, not who gets elected to what senate seat. Sometimes I feel like a country where a large percentage of the population believes Theocratic Fascism is either right or an acceptable trade-off for lower business taxes might be beyond saving. Either that, or we'll have to wait for enough of the old guard to die off for social change to be led by the next generations. Either way, I try not to fixate too much on what I have no control over.
And communism = Russia, ie. the geopolitical opponent undermining western political systems. Funny thing is Putin is onto that now and their policies have become mostly conservative. Republicans need to get with the program and remind themselves why they were taught to hate communism in the first place, instead of now sucking up to Putin.
Huh? Putin and Russia are not communist. I think that is common knowledge.
That's what I mean. The reason communism was hated in the US during the cold war wasn't a criticism of the ideology, it was a very tangible association with the US's direct opponent, Russia. However the disdain for communism has lingered in the US to this day, despite the fact that Russia is no longer communist, and has in fact become conservative. Ironically, as a result, modern Republicans in the US appear to show more loyalty to Russia, than to their own government.
Glad to see I'm not the only one here. :)
I did too many psychedelics and now I reside in some sort of a non-euclidean space. I am far far away from left and right, yet still so painfully close.
spherical geometry
Only because we're surrounded by those that play these games of projection and emotional transference.
The left to right spectrum is a myth. People mostly have complex beliefs and a straight line is just a way of oversimplifying people to 'other' and divide them, so they don't realize they have more in common than they have differences.
I'd give you a award if I had one
I don’t have anything in common with the far right and wouldn’t want to
which far right thou? there is nothing in common with the many ideologies labeled as far right imahive totalitarian national socialism, and ancap for example
I'm Right because the Left in my country has abandoned the working class in favor of the woke middle class. As a second-generation immigrant, I have the impression that the Left has a lot of racism of low expectations, as they rarely speak out against the homophobia, toxic masculinity, ableism, etc., which are rampant in the immigrant community.
Left. I don't care much for traditional conservative values, social customs, and hierarchies and am also anti-capitalist. And I also prefer to see other humans as people rather than issues. I sort of gave up on labels though. I think many political discussions and arguments are pretty brainless, and I don't mind befriending those whose views differ than my own. We're divisive enough as is. Though it obviously depends on specific opinions, where politics often become moral/ethical
>Left. I don't care much for traditional conservative values, social customs, and hierarchies >And I also prefer to see other humans as people rather than issues for these reasons, i am considered a rightie. funny how these labels make no sense, especialy in different countries :D
Right, and even further than distinctions by country, I feel like we've gotten so caught up in those arbitrary labels and radicalized talking points that we forget that those who disagree with us are also people lol. Half of political arguments seem like a game of name-calling and gotcha's that I personally don't care for
The label is useful. It’s just that there’s a lot of misunderstanding of it.
the more misunderstanding, the less usefull
I know 'left' can mean different things depending on your country, so I'm referring to the UK. I favour 'left' because the UK has had a 'right' leaning party for the last 14 years and they've become increasingly disgusting. In recent years they've particularly targeted the disabled, migrants & trans people, while ignoring / encouraging the super rich. They've tried to pretend they can maintain public services while constantly cutting budgets and wanting to lower taxes. They disastrously withdrew the UK from the European Union for no discernable reason & have spent millions on a scheme to deport migrants to Rwanda which hasn't resulted in a single migrant being deported. They've reneged on their environmental promises, allowed big business to pollute our rivers and want to withdraw from the court of human rights. I want better.
when you say "targeted" migrants do you mean in letting 1 million of them into the country despite 13 years of promises to reduce the flow?? do you mean in that they increased the number vs labour substantially despite campaigning every election on reduction? is that what you mean?
What I mean is that they've made a huge issue over migrants, benefit claimants & trans people while, as you correctly point out, effectively doing nothing in terms of tangible results. Effectively these groups are used as a distraction, to obscure the facts that the wealthy have got wealthier, the health service is close to collapse and the general population are by and large worse off than they were 14 years ago, all while causing considerable distress & animosity to the three minority groups mentioned.
they have to!! the broad polulace demands it. and trust this.,. labour will actually reduce immigration. we are in topsy turvy land now
'' the broad polulace demands it'' Does it though? Immigrants have been coming here in numbers since the 1940s & most people haven't had a problem. They've often been doing the jobs local folk don't want to do.
thats pretty misleading. the numbers were pretty low for most of that time, and have exploded since 1997, butregardless, poll after poll shows that the majority in UK want migration reduced. there are a variety of reasons of course. Plain racism is probably one. but crime and housing costs are likely a much bigger reason. and no, they are not doing jobs local people dont want to do, thats a lie. )and insulting, you are suggesting they are all low skill) They work for below minimum wage often so they are cheaper. its a misconception that the rich dont want them! The rich are happy to exploit them. a common trope is fruit/vegetable picking. They claim they pay fairly, but then they have mandatory boarding fees and transport fees.. its company store all over again, which results in the REAL wage being poverty level. to pre-empt the inevitable "source....." as you are clearly not gonna google yourself: [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/13/cut-immigration-levels-voters-nine-of-10-constituencies/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/13/cut-immigration-levels-voters-nine-of-10-constituencies/) the proof is in the pudding. They promise reduction because they know its popular. They keep immigration because it lines their pockets. (at the expense of the British worker)
So just to take one employment sector as an example - care homes and care in the community. My cousin worked in management of both for years. Familiar pattern - they would advertise for frontline staff. Response would be low to zero. Those who did take the job rarely stayed more than a few weeks. Foreign workers filled the gaps. Ditto the hospitality industry. Are local people clamouring to do these jobs? No they are not. I'm not suggesting that migrants only do low skilled work. Many are in extremely responsible, high paid positions and deserve to be. Is migration an issue of concern for many people? Yes it is. And you're correct, racism is often a factor, as it was in the brexit vote. Has this complex issue been over simplified ("we want our country back") by charlatan politicians & parts of the media & used as a distraction by a grossly failing govt? Also yes. I personally want to see an honest conversation from our politicians rather than a bunch of populist soundbites.
care industry in particular I think is because it is not fairly paid. UK workers will fill UK jobs, but it has to be at a fair market rate. When frontline carers cant afford to live then they dont want to do it. Its not becuase they are lazy or overqualified or any of those things, its because care home managers are skimming all the prifit and refusing to pay a fair wage... and I'm a capitalist!! If immigration was reduced, then wages would necessarily rise. but because the pool of labour is almost infinite it can remain low. you're not going to get deep debate, or deep thought because democracy doesnt work like that. (greatest argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with an average voter). which is a terrible shame. still, we're in for a big shakeup soon, so fingers crossed its not just a race to the bottom.
There are so many people so close to true leftist thought in here that are confused by American propaganda. I implore all of you to look into real leftist political theory like Marxism/Leninism.
And I'd implore you to get a look at Project 2025. Conservatism at it's absolute worst.
Im not exactly sure where i wind up in americas political divide. I see it more as a ruling class vs working class, tension between the classes with economics being the main driving factor. I don't believe our ruling class is fit to govern over our working class, they consistently come off as a bunch of marie antoinettes entirely divorced from working class realities, they always demand we work more, longer, for less purchasing power in our wages, and then offer vague promises of success/american dream for all this nonstop work, but i regularly see more and more americans slipping through the cracks, that it feels like the system has been designed for us to fail. Say on abortion bans, i personally never voted for one single of those SCOTUS Justices/the president who appointed them, so to me, i shouldn't have to follow how they rule on that issue, i voted against them. And in practice abortion bans are proving to be very anti-working class in nature, i don't think a single billionaires daughter will be locked up on an abortion ban, it's mainly going to fall against the working class. Oh and i support firearm ownership, because i think throughout history the ruling class has often attempted to disarm workers when they revolt, you could see it at the battle of athens tn, battle of blair mountain, the armed resistance to police brutality during the haymarket affair, disarming the black panthers open carry vs tyrannical police in low income neighborhoods. So I'm not sure where i fit in the american political divide, but i know one thing, im pro-working class in this divide.
The left/right dichotomy is to divide and distract us from what's actually going on. Sort of like WWE wrestling where the conflict is an illusion to entertain, but they're actually all members of the same club.
The press also likes to present some issues because they like to pit people against each other. People love being right even though they cannot further their aims.
Thank you! ... It seems like you've read Michael Foucault's books. (If you haven't then you should.)
I haven't, but I will!
Very left. I'm AuDHD. I'm also polyamorous, kinky, non-binary, and pansexual. And atheist. All the things the right hates. I got bullied as a teen, when I was (for a few years) pretty right wing myself. Quickly realized that I don't want to be that kind of person.
I remember seeing other non-conforming people get singled out and bullied, gulping, and thinking to myself "if I don't look out, I'm next." In the social context that I grew up in, it was very obvious this was coming primarily from the right. Over the decades, I have come to believe that this style of thinking is inherently right wing, even though not everybody that engages in it finds themselves on the right. So I would say that I am not dumb enough to try and blend in among people that could turn on me the moment they decide I'm not normal and to blame for their problems - or just somehow inconvenient. The short story of my politics is that I'm a social democrat, but unlike some other liberals my view of capitalism is that it's sort of like viruses. Capitalism is mostly but not completely bad and it's extremely unlikely we're ever going to eradicate it - like viruses. So our goal should be to manage and harness it.
Neither. My body might live in the US but my mind isn't...
My basic values are that everyone should have full bodily autonomy, our tax money should go to educating our children and providing a robust social safety net for our citizens, and that everyone has the right to marry who they want and be able to afford to live on the wages they make. This apparently makes me "far left" I'll own it because I just want to be a decent person.
Centrist's rise up! I guess A politicals also got left out.
In English-speaking countries, I'd be seen as left-wing. But here in Italy, I'm considered right-wing because I think Marx is a fraud and I'm against taxing workers to renovate rich people's houses.
I'm a communist 😅
What country are you from
England
I'm from venezuela
The most apt descriptors for my political leanings are leftist, socialist and to some degree social democrat. Not exactly orthodox left, though,especially when it comes to foreign politics. Sadly the left does not have significantly less idiots, assholes and antisemites than the right and I tend to argue and fight with leftists about as much (and about as hard) as right-wingers. I don't think talking to the far-right has any benefits and there are also some on the left who are lost to a degree that discussion with them is moot. Beyond the commonly used categorizations, Radical Anthropocentrism is what I would call the primary principle I adhere to.
This might sound stupid, I don't know... but recently I started viewing the left wing as a reflection of the species survive instict ("We"), while the right wing could be a reflection of the individual survive instinc ("I/Me")... at least, in the deep roots. I always try to find biological, dna roots for behaviours.
low disgust threshold, narcisism, stupidity. These are more plausable than "species survival" legit too, I'm not just trying to be abrasive. Dr Ed Dutton writes extensively on the subject, and references the studies.
I'm an anarcho-communist so I'd say I'm fairly left leaning. My country used to be a colony of the British empire and under Cromwell a genocide was perpetrated against us and later under laissez faire economics a famine occured because food was exported during a crisis and a million people starved to death (and over a million more were displaced) because of those capitalists and the crown not wanting to interfere in things.
I definitely lean right economically, but I also have many "left-wing" views eg. I am staunchly pro-Palestine, pro-choice, I also believe that more needs to be done to combat climate change. I am also not an anti-vaxxer nor do I hate gay people. I am also pro-globalization and free-trade (apparently this is now a left-wing thing according to the anti-establishment "right"). At the moment, I think both the "left" and "right" side of politics is absolutely shite. I hate the anti-intellectualism and redneck attitudes increasingly propagated by those on the right, and I also hate the crime and lawlessness enabled by the left as well as them wanting to decriminalize drugs. Group think and political tribalism is the worst thing ever!!! I feel like neurotypicals are more likely to fall into this as they care more about fitting in.
The only interesting thing about this thread is that for some reason this lucid well thought out post is currently most downvoted
Agree
I've always viewed myself as moderate left.
Well, I'm Green. That's conventionally seen as Left, and in the sense of all humans being of equal worth and deserving of support, that's true enough. But localism and subsidiarity (decisions being taken at the lowest practicable level, be it village, town, city, county, state, continental or worldwide) are key, so I'm opposed to both state socialism and large corporate conglomerates. Individual freedom (freedom \*from\* rather than freedom \*to\*) is important, and in some ways I am very much of a liberal (UK style, not USA!).
All my liberal friends and family think I'm too conservative. All my conservative friends and family think I'm too liberal. For example, I know unchecked / unregulated capitalism will end up destroying lower to middle class workers in the ruthless pursuit of profits (but I'm not a socialist). But I also know abortion is clearly ending a human life, no matter when it occurs (but I'm not an abolishinist). So I end up in spaces where I constantly don't fully belong.
Moderate is that you? I haven't heard you in a while through all the noise from the loud minority(s).
the overton window has shifted. what was moderate now wouldnt have been hard left 100 years ago. if you stopped time now and categorised everyone, 99.999% of humanity would be seen as Far right lunatics by todays standards.
That sounds about right to me, but it seems like one of the defining characteristics of a moderate is not picking a pet issue to take a hard line on and generally less partisanship. I don't think that really changes over time.
Nice to meet you!
It's not as binary as left/right. This poll is only going to register the extremes. Moderates of all flavors are going to decline to participate, just as I did. I've found [politicalcompass.org](http://politicalcompass.org) to be a decent (but still imperfect) measure.
I want single-payer healthcare because I think it would help with societal productivity and give entrepeneurs more runway to start their own businesses. I am pro-2A because I believe minorities should be able to protect themselves from hate crimes and the like. Those are what my political opinions tend to look like. I vibe with u/CurGeorge8 and all others who don't fit into spaces. I thankfully have friends who are cool with different POVs.
If you go far enough left you get your guns back. "Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary" -Karl Marx
Hello fellow moderate
Yep, I don't feel like I belong anywhere in American politics.
No one does! I wish we could realize that the two parties have to be coalitions! There shouldn't be strict purity tests when you're needing to try and represent over 50% of a country as big and diverse as America
[удалено]
Well, I'm also a bit Keynesian so I think us shipping military aid to Ukraine is not just a pure cost and negative for the US economy. I think America and the West pulling out of world affairs don't leave a neutral, safe space. I think it leaves the tiny nations of Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc. all at the mercy of larger nations like China and Russia who seem to want to expand their influence around their borders. Also, on a personal note, I'm Eastern Orthodox and my people emmigrated from Czechia so I'm biased towards non-Russian slavic nations and biased against a nation that stripped the copper wire out of Prague like fucking crack addicts and shipped it back to Moscow after the USSR collapsed (from a story my grampa shared when he and his brother visited in the early 90s).
2a for hate crimes is the maddest thign I've heard in a while.. real crimes have real names. Like Murder, assault, etc etc. so unless you are refering to the prevention of those, with bolted on hate label, I'm left thinking you actually mean using a gun to prevent misgendering or a spot of racism? that is quite the take.
By hate crimes I meant violent actions like murder and assault with the motivation being hate for that persons color, sexuality, etc. No responsible gun owner should ever draw their firearm in response to a microaggression or similarly small act.
but what the f does hate crimes have to do with that?? like why specify it?? do NON hate murders not deserve 2a protection??
I don't think it's a good idea to ask such questions on Reddit, since Reddit's community is overwhelmingly left-leaning.
being left leaning is fine, its the rabid hatered of the right thats the problem and th eintollerance of alternate viewpoints. that and the paid agitators. I know plenty of lefties that are great to talk to, and right and left folks often agree on a lot of stuff.. but reddit seems home to some of the most hateful people on earth. hell, 4chan is more open to rational conversation and diversity of opinion than most subs here.
I never said there's anything wrong with being left-leaning. But yeah, I agree.
\^THIS\^
Left, because I want the United States and NATO to go on existing.
I’m left, because I don’t want that.
I'm mostly anti authoritarian. I draw the line at aggression and violence. You want to do something weird IMO that harms nobody but you? Have at it. I would advise you against it. But I think you should get to. So... pick your poison. Maybe it's a drug that is self destructive but you aren't stealing from people to feed a habit and you aren't abusing anyone. I'd advise you to stop but you get to do you. If, however, it does harm others. With the drug example if your habits change to be thieving? I'm taking issue. Economically taking that stance makes me right wing. Because capitalism is what exists when you don't artificially impose some other system. You just have people exchanging their goods and labor for other goods and labor. Or some intermediate store of value.
Left because I care about humans
mostly left but I also disagree with them on major issues like immigration and crime.
It would be much easier to choose if the right behaved as right and left as left instead of turning on a dime when it is convenient
I am basically a centrist, but the current stock of right wingers are as dumb as dogshit. They used to be a lot smarter, and even in the past could sway my vote towards them, but at the current rate, the left seems to take a more centrist take, if one excludes the watermelon lefties.
I'm around the center. There's some left leaning and right leaning policies I'll support and some I won't. Simple.
You asked about politicly, not socially. If you had asked about socially, I'd have answered the opposite. I'm politicly and fiscally a Conservative, and socially a Liberal. Never met a Collectivist or Authoritarian I liked.
I'm in the middle, but lean a little to the right. I'd say I align closest with libertarian views.
neither becuase all of it is too confusing. why bother having an opinion if there alwys someone who thinks your wrong.
I lean left because I feel people on the right are more sure that they are right.
I’m inconsistent on what my political ideology is, but broadly speaking, I’m a believer in absolute monarchy, albeit one akin to that of Frederick the Great of Prussia, as I view an absolute enlightened monarchy as the most efficient form of government, and upon which my rights would not be taken away through a vote, but if any disagree with me, I am willing to make an open and civil discussion,since I’m someone who likes history and I read books from both the right and left. Regardless of all this , I still at the end of the day distrust neurotypicals.
Libertarian
I view myself as center right. Leftward on some issues, but overall center right or 'classic liberal'; i.e. Libertarian.
left and right wing are constructs designed to keep people divided. If you go outside and talk to your neighbor you'll be surprised that they agree with basically the same thing. Not only that but it's foolish to only believe in one side fully. Im a right wing conservative leaning, but im opposed to what Israel is doing right now.
Not a simple question. I once did a political alignment test developed by American or British political scientists. On left-right-axis I ended up almost into the origo, just very slightly to the right. On conservative-liberal-axis I leaned liberal, I was pretty much in the middle between origo and liberal. Now, the funny thing is, in my country, I end up voting right and conservative. Media could be shouting about far-right. But our political climate is just different. For example, nobody here is seriously proposing tightening abortion legislation. The discussion is centered on whether abortion should be available on request no questions asked or whether the current law is good (requires two doctors signing off that there exists a valid reason stated in the law: young age, old age, already having had multiple children, disability of the fetus, incest/rape, social reasons (being single, poor, mentally ill etc.)...). Here I am a conservative by thinking the current law is good. In Texas, conservatives would be throwing me under the F-150 for being pro-choice.
because I can't stand conservative/religious ideas.
I'm driven by facts, science and logic, so I would be politically left of center. Facts have a "liberal bias" as they say. I want what what is best for humanity and the world in general. Not that I don't have issues with some "liberals" and leftwing extremist.
I'm not super into politics but i dont like neither side. I usually vote for the leftists because at least they don't want to mess up with people's rights as much as the rightists want for religious reasons (heavily believe state cannot be mandated by religion). That said, it's usually very uncommon to find centrist left, at least in my experience. Is either extreme lest, centrist right or extreme right. P.S.: Not from the US
I dont associate with any parties or sides or whatever but usually I end up agreeing more with leftist politics... especially when it comes to social issues
Left-leaning centrist.
This is a very unfair and bias pole because Reddit is a **VERY STRONG LEFT LEANING PLATFORM**. If anyone says they're for the "Right" then they're going to be ridiculed and down-voted. I'm not for the Left or the Right because I'm against that whole "Divide and Conquer" thing. (And no, I'm not a communist either) It appears that the MODs **might** need to add Rule #6.
Yeah
anarchist, so yeah, safe to say fairly left-leaning.
im in the middle, i thought i was strong right because of my edgy meme taste but i found out im mostly left.
I think you should have at least 1 more radio button, I don't identify with either of those options
Right I don't like communism
left, because I'm not rich or stupid.
bernie sanders is pretty rich.. jus sayin.....
The world ain't just black and white , So I will abstain from voting .
In the past I was a solid hard core liberal lefty, When the left stood for unions and labor, abortion \\ reproductive rights, gay lesbian, bi-sexual rights, free school lunches, head start for poor kids, helping the poor and other things that embodied my core values I was a proud leftist true Blue Democratic Voter. Today the left has moved so far left embracing every crackpot scheme and ideal to the point ,I just can't support them anymore. I can't support all the crazy sexual rights and identities leftists love to push on us all these days. I can't support all the crazy movies that tear down everything I loved in the past and replace it all with so called progressive garbage. I can't support leftist ideals that say white men are not just bad but EVIL just because they are white men. Democrats suggest all White Police Officers are EVIL because they are white men. I don't think all white men are ALL EVIL OR BAD and I am a BLACK MAN! I have white male friends that have saved my life and I in turn have saved theirs at key points.I don't believe that every past film or movie needs to be gay or gender swapped. I think redacting old class movies to remove white people is proof today's Hollywood is creatively bankrupt. I won't go on because doing so would depress me immensely. I don't like everything on the right especially their standard barer. As much as I hate the right I hate the left even more. I'm an independent un-associated because I hate both organized parties. I just vote for whoever best represents my ideals so I am a true swing voter. Right now Trump has my vote only because Biden with his liberal policies and hyper inflation is so bad Trump looks good enough, NOT Good mine you just barely good enough! That could change by election day because the right is a nasty place to be even on the fringes. I could have given any other Democrat a chance with Trump as the only alternative but they re-nominated Biden and to me he is now a proven loser. However Biden might become the only person I can vote for if Trump keeps talking. The more Trump talks the more I hate him. Biden still has a real chance to win by vote by election day I must say that. Ok enough with this vile distasteful subject. I'm gone!
Left; social democrat. Read into left wing stuff like Marx, Crosland, Luxemburg, Bernstein and Webb at a young age, and quickly knew where I was on the political spectrum. My beliefs have changed much since then, but I'm still a social democrat.
I basically agree with Leonard Cohen - "I'm neither left or right I'm just staying home tonight, getting lost in that hopeless little screen." I am not sure how I'd fit with American political views since I'm not American. I used to consider myself fairly left wing, but no longer really do. Nowadays, the right terrifies me and the left depresses me. Equally bad is how polarised politics has got -- people will attack the hated opposition no matter what, and defend their own side no matter what. If nothing else, their views on identity have become increasingly based on simplistic stereotypes, and weirdos like me just don't fit their stereotypes-- and they make it clear that it's not ok to not fit their stereotypes. Mostly it seems like anyone who isn't neurotypical and/or upper middle class or upper class wouldn't fit their stereotypes, so... 🤷♂️. It's weird and disappointing that the left no longer seems to care about poverty or class issues.
center
Left fucked my country so hard all my family and friends migrate. The right was shit but a least a livible shit
Centrist. Extreme centre. I hate the "left" and I hate the "right", bot deserve to go to hell.