George Carlin's political ideology

[futurepres]

Was George Carlin more of a Liberal or a Libertarian?

[© tweed]

if some right-wing libertarians come in here and try to claim him as their own I'm gonna flip a serious sh**t.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

if some right-wing libertarians come in here and try to claim him as their own I'm gonna flip a serious sh**t.

As opposed to a comic sh!t?

[Vermin Supreme]

Left wing libertarian

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Left wing libertarian

[Vermin Supreme]

if some right-wing libertarians come in here and try to claim him as their own I'm gonna flip a serious sh**t.

As opposed to a comic sh!t?

You have serious making up to do with your taste in comedy.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

if some right-wing libertarians come in here and try to claim him as their own I'm gonna flip a serious sh**t.

As opposed to a comic sh!t?

You have serious making up to do with your taste in comedy.

Probably.

[Svensson]

George Carlin's ideology was George Carlin. That's about the sum of it.

[© tweed]

George Carlin's ideology was George Carlin. That's about the sum of it.

this would carry the implication that any social commentary he ever made was apolitical-narcissist, which is demonstrably false.  for one small piece of evidence you can look for a short interview he did with Olbermann-MSNBC a year or two before his death.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Left wing libertarian

This, but seriously, who f**king cares? The guy was a great comedian. I'm indifferent about what his politics were.

[Svensson]

George Carlin's ideology was George Carlin. That's about the sum of it.

this would carry the implication that any social commentary he ever made was apolitical-narcissist, which is demonstrably false.  for one small piece of evidence you can look for a short interview he did with Olbermann-MSNBC a year or two before his death.

You've clearly missed my definition/arguable sarcasm. I've watched his work for years, so trust me, I know his commentary was political. However, his political ideology was very much his own - you can see that much just through how he actively avoided political labeling, as well as how  he went after just about every single ideology in the spectrum whenever he could.

I suppose that, if we were actually to attach a label to a man who would have hated having a label attached to him, left-libertarian would be an arguable choice. Personally, though, I doubt any of us will ever be able to accurately pin him. In the end, I really think it all comes down to the point made by 20RP12 above me.

[© tweed]

I don't believe I took to 'assigning him a label', only point out which labels he categorically was not.

[Oakvale]

This video of Carlin on Bill Maher's show may be helpful.

[Mechaman]

This video of Carlin on Bill Maher's show may be helpful.

"Germany lost the second World War, fascism won it."
Classic line.

Also, the last person that George Carlin voted for was George McGovern.  Take that as you will.

[Mechaman]

Also, as a libertarian (I don't really consider myself a "left-libertarian" or a "right-libertarian", I mean really what loaded terms), I won't go as far as to claim Carlin as one of my own:

"One of the more pretentious political self-descriptions is "Libertarian." People think it puts them above the fray. It sounds fashionable, and to the uninitiated, faintly dangerous. Actually, it's just one more bullsh**t political philosophy." (p. 261)

-From Napalm and Silly Putty

Which doesn't mean I have a negative opinion of Carlin.  I can understand how he got to that conclusion, knowing a lot of my fellows (no offense guys).  I think if anything Carlin is anti-government.  Not sure if that would make him libertarian though, as his criticisms revolve around the corruption of American power and the fact that elections now days are pretty much fixed (of course some naive fool from the duopoly is going to rebuke this point in five minutes under the delusion that by voting Democratic or Republican they're making a difference).  He also seems to be critical of the capitalist market theory so that might suggest a little bit of a liberal influence.  Meh, I guess that the label "left-libertarian" probably is the most accurate.

It's kind of funny because when I read that passage for the first time in like 9th grade (2003) I had not idea what libertarianism was.

EDIT: Just realized that in the context of the passage using the word "Democrat" would send off the red avatars into a little sissyfit.  So I edited it to the appropriate "Democratic" accordingly.

[Niemeyerite]

Liberal, then libertarian.

George Carlin was the best comedian from the USA, too.

[Ebowed]

Definitely an anti-capitalist, but he did often give the impression that he did not see government as the correct vehicle for accomplishing the goals associated with removing the power and influence of corporations, while not necessarily presenting a clear alternative.  There was a decidedly anti-environmentalist angle to his ideology as well - and though I disagree with him on that, the gist of his argument on that subject is easily the most convincing one I have ever heard.  Most importantly, he had a strong distrust of authority, and it seemed to define the nature of his views above any particular political philosophy.

[John Dibble]

Cynicism.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Cynicism.

From what I've hear of him, that sounds about this.

He's a leftist, but of the kind of leftists I strongly dislike : those who don't believe in the power of democracy to change things for good, and by renouncing to any constructive political action they effectively undermine the possibility of improvement.