Summary of political beliefs

[k-onmmunist]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Of course. He is crazy.

Anyway, that's surprising coming from you. Aren't you too pro-choice in all three trimesters?

[k-onmmunist]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Of course. He is crazy.

Anyway, that's surprising coming from you. Aren't you too pro-choice in all three trimesters?

No, only the first two.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Of course. He is crazy.

Anyway, that's surprising coming from you. Aren't you too pro-choice in all three trimesters?

No, only the first two.

What?! Fake libertarian!

Seriously, your social score would suggest otherwise.

[k-onmmunist]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Of course. He is crazy.

Anyway, that's surprising coming from you. Aren't you too pro-choice in all three trimesters?

No, only the first two.

What?! Fake libertarian!

Seriously, your social score would suggest otherwise.

A foetus can feel pain after the first two trimesters.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Of course. He is crazy.

Anyway, that's surprising coming from you. Aren't you too pro-choice in all three trimesters?

No, only the first two.

What?! Fake libertarian!

Seriously, your social score would suggest otherwise.

A foetus can feel pain after the first two trimesters.

Fair enough. I did not know that that was your position, though.

[wdecker1]

Social Issues:
Abortion - Completely pro-choice

Gay Rights - Support fully

Gun Control - Maintain current levels.

Drugs - Legalize Marijuana, but not the hard-core drugs like heroin.

Censorship - Against it

Civil Liberties - protect them

Education - everyone should have the opportunity to receive an education

Economic Issues:

Nationalization - unsure about

Taxes - Implement a much stronger progressive income tax.

Minimum Wage - Living Wage

Trade - against free trade, would prefer greater environmental and worker protections

Social Services - support food stamps, social security, unemployment insurance, universal health care

Foreign Issues:

War(s)/Military Intervention - should only go to war if facing a direct threat

Military Funding-Maintain near current levels, or decrease slightly.

Foreign Aid - To be reduced.

UN - Support

Nuclear Arms - support disarmament

[perdedor]

UN - I oppose U.S. involement.

Explain.

That's pretty self-explanitory. I personally am not fond of the idea of a globalized pseudo-government meddling in the affairs of independent nations. I feel largely the same way about U.S. foreign policy.

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Is it really that troubling to read? A fetus is not a human life, it is the potential for human life. Until we are born, we are the physical property of our mothers. This could be argued sure, but it seems more ridiculous to me for a governing body to differentiate between certain segements of the birth cycle as if they should have such authority over a women's body at any given stage of her pregnancy.

[k-onmmunist]

If something has feelings, it is a living sentient being. A foetus cannot feel until 28 weeks.

[You kip if you want to...]

Social Issues

Abortion: I'm staunchly pro-choice. It's the mothers decision what she does with her body.
Church and state: Keep the two completely separate. If you want to follow a religion, follow it, you don't need the government to "enforce" or "endorse" a religion for you to do that. Get religion out of schools (replace "R.E." with something more productive), abolish state run schools which have religious affiliation.
Gay Marriage: Legalize
The Smoking Ban: Keep it and keep it as it is. There's no need to expand it or abolish it.
Euthanasia: Legalize it.
Prostitution: Illegal
Embryonic Stem Cell Research: I don't have a problem with it. The pros far outweigh any cons.
Immigration: I personally don't have a problem with the current system, although i'd support some stricter rules and regulations simply to put a stop to the rise of the far-right. Maybe like the Australian system.

Economic Issues

Taxes: I favour the LibDems' approach to taxation.
Welfare state: Support it.
Healthcare: Increase funding for the NHS.
Education: Massively increase funding in education. As above, abolish religiously aligned schools. Encourage lessons to develop citizenship. Abolish tuition fees! Keep the Education Maintenance Allowance (E.M.A) and maybe extend the limit to £40,000 income to receive it. Make Sixth Form education compulsory. Abolish single-sex schools.
Minimum Wage: Keep it and raise it.
Infrastructure: Introduce congestion charges in all major cities, but massively cut prices for public transport.
Energy Policy: Build more wind farms and put up solar panels. Take advantage of tidal power and other renewable resources.

Foreign Issues

European Union: Further intergrate with Europe although I oppose a federal "United States of Europe".
Iraq: Withdraw troops now. Blair was stupid for going along with GWB.
Afghanistan: Increase troop numbers there.
Military Involvement: Attack only if attacked or directly threatened. Don't blindly follow the US like with Iraq.
Military Budget: CUTCUTCUT!

Domestic Issues

Devolution: Support the assemblies in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as long as Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs aren't allowed to vote on England-only matters OR form an English Parliment just for English issues and keep the current Houses of Parliament for UK-wide issues.
Scottish/Welsh Independance: Oppose! Keep the United Kingdom united.
Voting and elections: Keep the voting age at 18. Introduce a Proportional Representation electoral system, similar to the German system. NOT AV. Give constituents the ability to re-call their MP. Democratically elect members 100% of the House of Lords, no appointments or hereditary peers or bishops or anyone who isn't accountable to an electorate. Allow party members to elect their party's leader.
Monarchy: Abolish it completely. Become the United Republic and let the public elect the head of state.

Changes in italics.

[k-onmmunist]

Constitutional Issues

Summary - Radicalism

Monarchy - Abolish and replace with an elected head of state who would have powers somewhat similar to those of the US president. The head of state would be elected every 3 years in separate presidential elections.

Second chamber - Abolish the House of Lords by flooding it with friendly peers and leave the Commons as the only body able to create legislation. However, increase the size of the Commons so for every 100,000 people in Britain, there is a representative.

Fixed elections - Hold Commons elections biannually. The party with the most seats in the Commons would form the new legislative government and have Prime Minister. The Prime Minister would have somewhat less power than now.

Constitution - Create a Bill of Rights to protect British liberties, and empower the Supreme Court to defend them. Also, codify the constitution. Amendments would be approved first by a vote of over 60% in the Commons and then by a national referendum.

Devolution - Every region shall be granted an assembly with Swiss canton style powers. The regions shall be roughly drawn up along traditional county lines. Elections to the Assembly would be held annually. Each Assembly would also have a constitution.

Local government - Abolish the confusing current system and instead create one type of Local Authority. Municipal elections are to be held annually, as they are now.

Voting system - Saint-Lague proportional representation for the Commons and Assemblies. Local government to be elected via FPTP. Voting age to be lowered to 16 for general and Assembly elections and 14 for municipal elections. Those serving under 20 years in prison or those who are mentally ill shall be granted suffrage.

Church of England - Disestablish and create a secular Britain.

Criminal code - Create one.

Moral issues

Summary - Broadly communitarian

Gay marriage - Get the state out of marriage, preferably. If not, then simply legalise gay marriage along the same sort of lines as normal marriage. While we're at it, legalise polygamy. Finally, end the ban on MSM's giving blood.

Abortion - Leave week limit as it is. Partial-birth abortion should be banned however. Allow abortion on request.

Smoking ban - Everyone has the right to clean air. Keep it.

Fox hunting - Keep illegal and possibly extend the ban to all hunting. It is simply cruelty in the name of 'sport'

Euthanasia - Legalise, I don't see any reasons for forcing people to live if they are of sound mind and have expressed their wish to end their life.

Prostitution - I have no problem with call girls etc., but pimping, brothels and street prostitution should all remain illegal and be punished harshly.

Death penalty - Restore for murder, treason and terrorism. Method of execution should be firing squad. Also, make sure those serving life sentences cannot be released before 40 years have elapsed.

Drugs - Legalise soft drugs (i.e., cannabis, amphetamines, LSD) and tax them at a rate similar to tobacco. The War on Drugs has been an utter failure.

Age of consent - Lower to 14. The current laws are pretty ridiculous to be quite honest.

Gun control - Keep all guns banned. They're a menace.

Civil liberties - Scrap the ID card scheme, lower the detention without trial limit to 7 days, stop keeping innocent people's fingerprints etc.

Censorship - The new constitution would prevent the government banning anything it does not like.

Sunday trading - Oppose.

Economic issues

Summary - Socialist

Ministry - Abolish the Treasury etc. and create a huge Department for Economic Planning and Reconstruction with one superminister and many subministers.

Public ownership - My most important issue. All of the following should be taken completely under national control: Coal, railways, iron and steel, electricity, oil, aerospace, sugar, cement, insurance, land, textiles, road haulage (involved in haulage of publicly owned goods), telecoms, civil aviation, ports and shipbuilding. The following should be municipally controlled: water, gas and buses. Some banking should also be nationalised. Finally, all formerly British car manufacturers should be nationalised and reorganised. Re-privatisation of the auto industry could possibly take place later. Bus, truck, motorbike and van manufacture should also be nationalised. A National Economic Planning Council should be established to organise co-operation between nationalised industry. Commence MASSIVE reconstruction of British manufacturing - paper and cotton industries should also be revived under national control.

Trade - Tariffs on coal, iron, steel, cotton and automobiles to protect British industry. Possibly extend elsewhere later on. In particular, focus on raising quality standards thus keeping out mass produced Asian goods and allowing British businesses with higher wage rates to compete.

Taxation - Introduce land value taxation. Abolish income tax for those earning under £20,000 per annum and levy a top rate of 90% on those who earn over £1,000,000 per annum. Income redistribution should be a primary aim. Abolish inheritance tax except on the very rich. Introduce some carbon taxes to encourage cleaner and more efficient industry. Make National Insurance a progressive rather than flat tax.

Healthcare - Abolish prescription charges and renationalise health services such as cleaning which are privately owned. Launch a new campaign to stamp out venereal disease and offer free contraception in high schools and colleges. Take up Labour's pledge to allow people to see a cancer specialist within a week. Nationalise all private healthcare. I'm largely indifferent to polytechnics.. let the community decide.

Education - Add Finance to the high school curriculum and remove R.E. Require ALL schools to teach sex education. Nationalise religious and private schools. Bring back free school milk and ensure free, healthy school meals for primary school children. Raise EMA limit and drastically lower tuition fees. End single-gender schools.

Minimum Wage - Raise to £8.50 in 2010 pounds and fix it to inflation. Equalise the 18-21 rate with this. The 16-17 rate should be raised and tied to inflation at £5.50

Welfare - Introduce month long paternity leave. Create a 'national care service' for the elderly. Legislate to enforce an 8 hour working day for blue-collar workers and introduce a workfare system for unemployment benefits.

Energy - Focus on solar and hydro-electric power. Use wind or nuclear power only if absolutely neccesary.

Environment - Invest heavily in home insulation and clean electricity. Introduce a system of polluter permits for industry.

Immigration - Keep as it is pretty much, maybe an Australian style system.

Pensions - Restore average earnings link.

Equal pay - Sign into law an act requiring all companies with over 100 employees to issue reports annually related to men and women's pay. Prosecute businesses that clearly discriminate on basis of gender. Also, create a new act ensuring that equal pay extends also to racial, disability, sexuality grounds.

Affirmative action - Support on class and gender basis. Oppose on racial basis.

Unions - Repeal ALL Thatcher and Major legislation that restricted trade union action. Work for collective bargaining.

Anti-trust law - Enforce vigorously. Large supermarket chains and agribusiness to be broken up into smaller, more competitive parts.

Global warming - Doesn't exist.

Foreign Policy

Summary - Socialism in one country

Europe - Second most important issue. QUIT! NOW!!!!!!!!

International organisations - Quit NATO, the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO

Afghanistan - Withdraw troops immediately.

War - Only get involved in wars if we are directly attacked.

Nuclear policy - Third most important issue. Disarm all our nuclear weapons. We have no right to preach to other countries about nuclear weapons until we have  gotten rid of our own.

[Хahar 🤔]

However, increase the size of the Commons so for every 100,000 people in Britain, there is a representative.

!!!

The Commons is already huge.

[k-onmmunist]

However, increase the size of the Commons so for every 100,000 people in Britain, there is a representative.

!!!

The Commons is already huge.

This would mean the Commons would have about 610 members at present. Which is less.

[Mechaman]

God when did Winston become such a protectionist?

[ComeAndTakeIt53]

Abortion: Against, unless in the case of rape or if the woman's life is on the line.
Separation of church and state: Garbage term that liberals use to make Christian's leave the religion.
Affirmative action:
Hate crimes: They're obviously bad...
Gun control: Worst idea in history....may I mind you that Hitler was the first leader to make you register your guns....You should have to register to own a gun and be 18 and also be 18 and register for conceal and carry, other special licenses, etc.. But registering each individual gun is WAY too much and it's none of the government's business. There has to be some form of gun control, though, what am I just going to go out and buy a missile launcher?
Death penalty: For it. It's not cruel and unusual at all because if you're getting it chances are what you did was cruel and unusual.
Flag burning: Obviously, against it.
Euthanasia: Against it.
Prostitution: Against it.
Immigration: Fine with it as long as they do it legall.
Taxes: Even though we need them, the lower the better. Abolish income tax and the Federal Reserve, though.

[President Mitt]

may I mind you that Hitler was the first leader to make you register your guns

So, based on this logic, since Hitler was a vegetarian, should we start burning down forests and slaughtering every animal on sight without hesitation?

[k-onmmunist]

Yay godwin's law.

[Mint]

Looks like we agree on abortion (well honestly, I'd go further), gun control (ditto), drugs, elections, farm subsidies, transportation and NASA.

[Swedish Austerity Cheese]

Economic Issues:

Budget: No man is free if he's in debt, as Göran Persson said. Defecits should never be allowed except as a last desperate resorte in times of crisis.
Income Tax: Keep income tax on a reasonable level. Support a progressive  income tax, but not to the extent of the current Swedish one.
Property Taxes: The rates were a horribly unfair system that hurt middleclass homeowners, and should not be reinstated.
Inheritance Tax: We should not tax people because their loved ones die, and have some of their property transferred.
Green Taxes: Support to some extent, but some of them are simply stupid.
Privatisation: Mostly in favour. The Swedish goverment should not be in the business of running corporations. (Support them maintaining control over Swedish Railroads though)

Domestic Issues:

Lower Education: Support stricter disipline in Swedish Schools. A new grading system is needed.
Higher Education: Free education is important in order for people to be able to advance in society. No College or University fees. Accessability to a school should be based on a person's knowledge, not their economic background.   
Labour Unions: Swedish Labour Unions are outdated and undemocratic. They should be forced to reform, and their power should be diminished radicly.
Law and Order: Harsher punishments for rapists, murderers, and people who commit other violent crimes. Stop treating offenders like victims, and victims like offenders.
Public transport: Prices should be kept at a low level. Pensioners should get free travel.
Immigration: Stricer rules and stricter enforcement. More efforts to help immigrants intergrate into Swedish Society is needed so they don't get stuck in the million-project suburbs forever. Higher requirments for Swedish Citizenship.   
 
Social Issues:

Gay Rights: Strongly support same-sex marriage and adoption.
Euthanasia: There should be a legal option for you to end your life in certain situations.
Abortion: Moderatly Pro-life. Regulation should be kept very strict, but a total ban would only lead women to commit illegal abortions instead.   
Drinking Age: People should have the right to purchase alcohol when they turn 18.

Foregin Issues:

European Union: Eurosceptic. The EU's power needs to be decreased, and given back to the national legislators.
The Euro: Has proven to be a bad idea. Keep the own Swedish currency.
NATO: Swedish Military should continue to co-operate with Nato, but not become a full member.

Constituional Issues:

Decentralisation: Strongly support. More power to local goverment.
New regions: Support merging the current counties into regions in theory, although I hate the idea of Skåne being forced together with Blekinge.
Monarchy: The benefits of maintaining the monarchy outnumbers the benefits of abolishing it. The kingship is more of a symbol than a political office anyway, so to me electing it would be like having a vote on the Swedish Flag every four years. 

[k-onmmunist]

European Union: Eurosceptic. The EU's power needs to be decreased, and given back to the national legislators.
The Euro: Has proven to be a bad idea. Keep the own Swedish currency.

[So rightwing that I broke the Political Compass!]

Constitutional Issues

Summary – Public empowerment+meritocracy

•   Campaign finance reform: Donations of more then a $1000 from any single individual forbidden. Church/business/union role in campaign financing or organization forbidden. Attempts to circumvent this sneakily forbidden.

•   Political representation: The Tasmanian system. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Tasmania)

•   Constitution: A fairly standard set of negative and positive rights(ie. Freedom of speech, entitlement to healthcare/water/food and so on). Distinctively I advocate a greater emphasis on freedom of association then most people embrace, and “freedom of community”(as opposed to the current system of mandatory individualism). Also I see very little value in the right of privacy from the government, so long a checks and balances exist to prevent abuses.

•   Local government – If the citizens took local government seriously, I would support significant Swiss-style devolution. They do not, however. The obvious remedy would be mandatory turnout at elections +making local government more important, but that could backfire.

•   Meritocracy: In many countries, the judiciary has very significant de facto legislative power. Given that precedent, I think the most learned individuals should play a greater role(albeit perhaps not a direct legislative role) in the political system. It is a travesty for example that scientists have not been able to exert more pressure on the political system to act against global warming.



Societal issues

Summary – Progressive communitarianism(as opposed to progressive individualism which goes by the name of “liberalism”)

•   Civil unions: Marriage is a symbolic/religious term and the state need not define it, consensus is unnecessary. Civil unions should not discriminate based upon sexuality. Civil unions should be separated into two distinct forms, childless CU’s and CU’s responsible for children. The standard pre-nuptial agreement of each partner receiving approximately what they have earned rather then arbitrary 50-50 split should be the default settlement in cases of divorce.

•   Demographics: Structure social engineering policies upon two main goals: firstly bringing the birthrate up to something approximating 2(replacement level), and secondly balancing the class imbalance(birthrates correlating with poverty) which hinders government’s push to reduce poverty rates. This to be achieved through using tax and welfare policies as leverage, as well as maternal entitlements.


•   Abortion/contraception – Free and encouraged amongst those judged unlikely to be fit parents(ie. Teenagers/drug abusers etc). Should also be encouraged in the case of fetuses determined to suffer serious genetic disorders. If sociopathy turns out to have a genetic component, would support mandatory abortion of fetuses found to have it(probably the only case I would support mandatory abortion). 


•   Addictive substances/prostitution: Legalize(on account of undeniable failure) but push out of the public sphere through public smoking bans and the like. If at some point surveillance technologies advance to the point that prohibition of such activities can be successfully enforced, I would support renewal of bans.

•   Environmentalism: Passionately consider combating of global warming to be the great test of my generation’s worth, if not its raison d’être. IF it was politically viable I would support the transition of global society to Vegetarianism(with the possible exception of meats which cause the least in the way of environmental burden), on account of animal farming being so much more environmentally burdensome then agriculture and the immense strain fishing as imposed upon our oceans. Emphasis on conservation. Emphasis on urban/suburban environments being “greened” to a greater extent.   

•   Crime: Petty criminals(such as those leading to sentences of less then 1 year/6 months) should not be immersed in criminal culture, as they often leave more criminal then they entered- I’m not sure what the best alternative is. Paedophiles and rapists should be chemically castrated. I’m ambivalent about the death penalty- though I would support it being applied in severe cases of political or corporate corruption, as well as perhaps serial killers.

•   Gun control: Support ban, though would be supportive of investigation into the viability of public access to defensive tasers.

•   Civil Liberties vs Civil Securities: I come down in favour of the latter almost every single time. The idiotic objections(sorry to be blunt but its true) to keeping the DNA of innocent people on a government database strikes me as particularly ludicrous- what possible harm could come of that? Modern surveillance and ID card strategies I am currently ambivalent about not from a civil liberties standpoint but rather because the technology has not progressed enough to be particularly useful. Once ID cards can be replaced with high-tech ID chips(mandatory, ideally), security dividends will truly manifest themselves.

•   Multiculturalism/Immigration: I am ambivalent about multiculturalism for multiculturalism’s sake(the odd idea that diversity correlates with success seems disproven when one looks at homogenous societies like South Korea and Japan), sympathetic to calls for higher degree of assimilation and Western cultural assertiveness. Also, most immigration policies seem tailored to deprive developing countries of their most productive citizens. However the threat posed by demographic and skills gaps will take a generation at least to fix, therefore necessitating high rates of immigration to counterbalance them until they stabilize. Government should reject anti-refugee silliness currently pervading my country, rather than pander to it as it currently is. 

•   Government should do what it can to encourage secularism and intellectualism.



Economic issues

Summary – Democratic Socialist

•   Taxation: Land Value tax should be a core basis of tax revenue. Also carbon taxes should be implemented. Income tax should become more progressive. Sin taxes should be expanded to the least healthy foods.

•   Public ownership: Public control(or in certain cases semi-control) of national resources, infrastructure and healthcare system is vital. A public bank should be established with preferential loans to particular causes(ie. Student loans, first time home buyers and renewable energy/energy efficiency loans)

•   Renewable energy/energy efficiency: Stimulate economy primarily through investment in renewable energy technologies and public transport. There are countless ways to expand renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency, to numerous to mention. Through use of the public bank’s preferential loans, the government could increase the pace- in exchange for those loans, the government would keep half the financial gain resultant from increased energy efficiency, which could be dedicated towards financing further renewable/efficiency investment.

•   Trade: Ambivalent on free trade. A fair trade strategy to help bolster the economies of developing countries, coupled with common sense trade restrictions to counter mercantilist strategy from countries such as China, would be most desirable- coupled with an attempt to shift our economy towards less reliance on natural resource exports.

•   Education: Free university in exchange for… say 5/7 hours of public service in the community per week. Beyond that I’m not well informed enough to propose anything.

•   Institute a workfare system modeled on Denmark’s.

•   Protect pensions and extend government care for the elderly.

•   Strengthen anti-trust laws

•   Cease agricultural subsidies towards large agribuisiness.

•   Exploit the water supplies of Australia’s North and consider exploiting its agricultural capacity.

•   Oppose affirmative action based on race, favour it on a socioeconomic basis.



Foreign Policy

Summary – Standard egalatarian internationalism.

•   Military budget: As “a future fair for all” said, “CUTCUTCUT!”
•   Implement fair trade policies and expand aid to third world countries conditional on those countries taking serious action regarding their greenhouse gas emissions.
•   Iraq and Afghanistan: Withdraw from former, stay in latter until the deadline Obama proclaimed(if it drags on past that, leave).
•   Iran: Would support bombing if all else fails.
•   Play as cooperative and active a role as a nation of our minor importance can in matters requiring international cooperation for global benefit.

[Dr. RI]

Constitutional Issues

Summary – Public empowerment+meritocracy

•   Campaign finance reform: Donations of more then a $1000 from any single individual forbidden. Church/business/union role in campaign financing or organization forbidden. Attempts to circumvent this sneakily forbidden.

•   Political representation: The Tasmanian system. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Tasmania)

•   Constitution: A fairly standard set of negative and positive rights(ie. Freedom of speech, entitlement to healthcare/water/food and so on). Distinctively I advocate a greater emphasis on freedom of association then most people embrace, and “freedom of community”(as opposed to the current system of mandatory individualism). Also I see very little value in the right of privacy from the government, so long a checks and balances exist to prevent abuses.

•   Local government – If the citizens took local government seriously, I would support significant Swiss-style devolution. They do not, however. The obvious remedy would be mandatory turnout at elections +making local government more important, but that could backfire.

•   Meritocracy: In many countries, the judiciary has very significant de facto legislative power. Given that precedent, I think the most learned individuals should play a greater role(albeit perhaps not a direct legislative role) in the political system. It is a travesty for example that scientists have not been able to exert more pressure on the political system to act against global warming.



Societal issues

Summary – Progressive communitarianism(as opposed to progressive individualism which goes by the name of “liberalism”)

•   Civil unions: Marriage is a symbolic/religious term and the state need not define it, consensus is unnecessary. Civil unions should not discriminate based upon sexuality. Civil unions should be separated into two distinct forms, childless CU’s and CU’s responsible for children. The standard pre-nuptial agreement of each partner receiving approximately what they have earned rather then arbitrary 50-50 split should be the default settlement in cases of divorce.

•   Demographics: Structure social engineering policies upon two main goals: firstly bringing the birthrate up to something approximating 2(replacement level), and secondly balancing the class imbalance(birthrates correlating with poverty) which hinders government’s push to reduce poverty rates. This to be achieved through using tax and welfare policies as leverage, as well as maternal entitlements.


•   Abortion/contraception – Free and encouraged amongst those judged unlikely to be fit parents(ie. Teenagers/drug abusers etc). Should also be encouraged in the case of fetuses determined to suffer serious genetic disorders. If sociopathy turns out to have a genetic component, would support mandatory abortion of fetuses found to have it(probably the only case I would support mandatory abortion).  


•   Addictive substances/prostitution: Legalize(on account of undeniable failure) but push out of the public sphere through public smoking bans and the like. If at some point surveillance technologies advance to the point that prohibition of such activities can be successfully enforced, I would support renewal of bans.

•   Environmentalism: Passionately consider combating of global warming to be the great test of my generation’s worth, if not its raison d’être. IF it was politically viable I would support the transition of global society to Vegetarianism(with the possible exception of meats which cause the least in the way of environmental burden), on account of animal farming being so much more environmentally burdensome then agriculture and the immense strain fishing as imposed upon our oceans. Emphasis on conservation. Emphasis on urban/suburban environments being “greened” to a greater extent.  

•   Crime: Petty criminals(such as those leading to sentences of less then 1 year/6 months) should not be immersed in criminal culture, as they often leave more criminal then they entered- I’m not sure what the best alternative is. Paedophiles and rapists should be chemically castrated. I’m ambivalent about the death penalty- though I would support it being applied in severe cases of political or corporate corruption, as well as perhaps serial killers.

•   Gun control: Support ban, though would be supportive of investigation into the viability of public access to defensive tasers.

•   Civil Liberties vs Civil Securities: I come down in favour of the latter almost every single time. The idiotic objections(sorry to be blunt but its true) to keeping the DNA of innocent people on a government database strikes me as particularly ludicrous- what possible harm could come of that? Modern surveillance and ID card strategies I am currently ambivalent about not from a civil liberties standpoint but rather because the technology has not progressed enough to be particularly useful. Once ID cards can be replaced with high-tech ID chips(mandatory, ideally), security dividends will truly manifest themselves.

•   Multiculturalism/Immigration: I am ambivalent about multiculturalism for multiculturalism’s sake(the odd idea that diversity correlates with success seems disproven when one looks at homogenous societies like South Korea and Japan), sympathetic to calls for higher degree of assimilation and Western cultural assertiveness. Also, most immigration policies seem tailored to deprive developing countries of their most productive citizens. However the threat posed by demographic and skills gaps will take a generation at least to fix, therefore necessitating high rates of immigration to counterbalance them until they stabilize. Government should reject anti-refugee silliness currently pervading my country, rather than pander to it as it currently is.  

•   Government should do what it can to encourage secularism and intellectualism.



Economic issues

Summary – Democratic Socialist

•   Taxation: Land Value tax should be a core basis of tax revenue. Also carbon taxes should be implemented. Income tax should become more progressive. Sin taxes should be expanded to the least healthy foods.

•   Public ownership: Public control(or in certain cases semi-control) of national resources, infrastructure and healthcare system is vital. A public bank should be established with preferential loans to particular causes(ie. Student loans, first time home buyers and renewable energy/energy efficiency loans)

•   Renewable energy/energy efficiency: Stimulate economy primarily through investment in renewable energy technologies and public transport. There are countless ways to expand renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency, to numerous to mention. Through use of the public bank’s preferential loans, the government could increase the pace- in exchange for those loans, the government would keep half the financial gain resultant from increased energy efficiency, which could be dedicated towards financing further renewable/efficiency investment.

•   Trade: Ambivalent on free trade. A fair trade strategy to help bolster the economies of developing countries, coupled with common sense trade restrictions to counter mercantilist strategy from countries such as China, would be most desirable- coupled with an attempt to shift our economy towards less reliance on natural resource exports.

•   Education: Free university in exchange for… say 5/7 hours of public service in the community per week. Beyond that I’m not well informed enough to propose anything.

•   Institute a workfare system modeled on Denmark’s.

•   Protect pensions and extend government care for the elderly.

•   Strengthen anti-trust laws

•   Cease agricultural subsidies towards large agribuisiness.

•   Exploit the water supplies of Australia’s North and consider exploiting its agricultural capacity.

•   Oppose affirmative action based on race, favour it on a socioeconomic basis.



Foreign Policy

Summary – Standard egalatarian internationalism.

•   Military budget: As “a future fair for all” said, “CUTCUTCUT!”
•   Implement fair trade policies and expand aid to third world countries conditional on those countries taking serious action regarding their greenhouse gas emissions.
•   Iraq and Afghanistan: Withdraw from former, stay in latter until the deadline Obama proclaimed(if it drags on past that, leave).
•   Iran: Would support bombing if all else fails.
•   Play as cooperative and active a role as a nation of our minor importance can in matters requiring international cooperation for global benefit.

You certainly have a more interesting set of views than most around here. It's a rare occurence to see someone who actually has something of a communitarian ideology on this forum.

[k-onmmunist]

Constitutional Issues

Summary – Public empowerment+meritocracy

•   Campaign finance reform: Donations of more then a $1000 from any single individual forbidden. Church/business/union role in campaign financing or organization forbidden. Attempts to circumvent this sneakily forbidden.

•   Political representation: The Tasmanian system. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Tasmania)

•   Constitution: A fairly standard set of negative and positive rights(ie. Freedom of speech, entitlement to healthcare/water/food and so on). Distinctively I advocate a greater emphasis on freedom of association then most people embrace, and “freedom of community”(as opposed to the current system of mandatory individualism). Also I see very little value in the right of privacy from the government, so long a checks and balances exist to prevent abuses.

•   Local government – If the citizens took local government seriously, I would support significant Swiss-style devolution. They do not, however. The obvious remedy would be mandatory turnout at elections +making local government more important, but that could backfire.

•   Meritocracy: In many countries, the judiciary has very significant de facto legislative power. Given that precedent, I think the most learned individuals should play a greater role(albeit perhaps not a direct legislative role) in the political system. It is a travesty for example that scientists have not been able to exert more pressure on the political system to act against global warming.



Societal issues

Summary – Progressive communitarianism(as opposed to progressive individualism which goes by the name of “liberalism”)

•   Civil unions: Marriage is a symbolic/religious term and the state need not define it, consensus is unnecessary. Civil unions should not discriminate based upon sexuality. Civil unions should be separated into two distinct forms, childless CU’s and CU’s responsible for children. The standard pre-nuptial agreement of each partner receiving approximately what they have earned rather then arbitrary 50-50 split should be the default settlement in cases of divorce.

•   Demographics: Structure social engineering policies upon two main goals: firstly bringing the birthrate up to something approximating 2(replacement level), and secondly balancing the class imbalance(birthrates correlating with poverty) which hinders government’s push to reduce poverty rates. This to be achieved through using tax and welfare policies as leverage, as well as maternal entitlements.


•   Abortion/contraception – Free and encouraged amongst those judged unlikely to be fit parents(ie. Teenagers/drug abusers etc). Should also be encouraged in the case of fetuses determined to suffer serious genetic disorders. If sociopathy turns out to have a genetic component, would support mandatory abortion of fetuses found to have it(probably the only case I would support mandatory abortion).  


•   Addictive substances/prostitution: Legalize(on account of undeniable failure) but push out of the public sphere through public smoking bans and the like. If at some point surveillance technologies advance to the point that prohibition of such activities can be successfully enforced, I would support renewal of bans.

•   Environmentalism: Passionately consider combating of global warming to be the great test of my generation’s worth, if not its raison d’être. IF it was politically viable I would support the transition of global society to Vegetarianism(with the possible exception of meats which cause the least in the way of environmental burden), on account of animal farming being so much more environmentally burdensome then agriculture and the immense strain fishing as imposed upon our oceans. Emphasis on conservation. Emphasis on urban/suburban environments being “greened” to a greater extent.  

•   Crime: Petty criminals(such as those leading to sentences of less then 1 year/6 months) should not be immersed in criminal culture, as they often leave more criminal then they entered- I’m not sure what the best alternative is. Paedophiles and rapists should be chemically castrated. I’m ambivalent about the death penalty- though I would support it being applied in severe cases of political or corporate corruption, as well as perhaps serial killers.

•   Gun control: Support ban, though would be supportive of investigation into the viability of public access to defensive tasers.

•   Civil Liberties vs Civil Securities: I come down in favour of the latter almost every single time. The idiotic objections(sorry to be blunt but its true) to keeping the DNA of innocent people on a government database strikes me as particularly ludicrous- what possible harm could come of that? Modern surveillance and ID card strategies I am currently ambivalent about not from a civil liberties standpoint but rather because the technology has not progressed enough to be particularly useful. Once ID cards can be replaced with high-tech ID chips(mandatory, ideally), security dividends will truly manifest themselves.

•   Multiculturalism/Immigration: I am ambivalent about multiculturalism for multiculturalism’s sake(the odd idea that diversity correlates with success seems disproven when one looks at homogenous societies like South Korea and Japan), sympathetic to calls for higher degree of assimilation and Western cultural assertiveness. Also, most immigration policies seem tailored to deprive developing countries of their most productive citizens. However the threat posed by demographic and skills gaps will take a generation at least to fix, therefore necessitating high rates of immigration to counterbalance them until they stabilize. Government should reject anti-refugee silliness currently pervading my country, rather than pander to it as it currently is.  

•   Government should do what it can to encourage secularism and intellectualism.



Economic issues

Summary – Democratic Socialist

•   Taxation: Land Value tax should be a core basis of tax revenue. Also carbon taxes should be implemented. Income tax should become more progressive. Sin taxes should be expanded to the least healthy foods.

•   Public ownership: Public control(or in certain cases semi-control) of national resources, infrastructure and healthcare system is vital. A public bank should be established with preferential loans to particular causes(ie. Student loans, first time home buyers and renewable energy/energy efficiency loans)

•   Renewable energy/energy efficiency: Stimulate economy primarily through investment in renewable energy technologies and public transport. There are countless ways to expand renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency, to numerous to mention. Through use of the public bank’s preferential loans, the government could increase the pace- in exchange for those loans, the government would keep half the financial gain resultant from increased energy efficiency, which could be dedicated towards financing further renewable/efficiency investment.

•   Trade: Ambivalent on free trade. A fair trade strategy to help bolster the economies of developing countries, coupled with common sense trade restrictions to counter mercantilist strategy from countries such as China, would be most desirable- coupled with an attempt to shift our economy towards less reliance on natural resource exports.

•   Education: Free university in exchange for… say 5/7 hours of public service in the community per week. Beyond that I’m not well informed enough to propose anything.

•   Institute a workfare system modeled on Denmark’s.

•   Protect pensions and extend government care for the elderly.

•   Strengthen anti-trust laws

•   Cease agricultural subsidies towards large agribuisiness.

•   Exploit the water supplies of Australia’s North and consider exploiting its agricultural capacity.

•   Oppose affirmative action based on race, favour it on a socioeconomic basis.



Foreign Policy

Summary – Standard egalatarian internationalism.

•   Military budget: As “a future fair for all” said, “CUTCUTCUT!”
•   Implement fair trade policies and expand aid to third world countries conditional on those countries taking serious action regarding their greenhouse gas emissions.
•   Iraq and Afghanistan: Withdraw from former, stay in latter until the deadline Obama proclaimed(if it drags on past that, leave).
•   Iran: Would support bombing if all else fails.
•   Play as cooperative and active a role as a nation of our minor importance can in matters requiring international cooperation for global benefit.

You certainly have a more interesting set of views than most around here. It's a rare occurence to see someone who actually has something of a communitarian ideology on this forum.

[So rightwing that I broke the Political Compass!]

You certainly have a more interesting set of views than most around here. It's a rare occurence to see someone who actually has something of a communitarian ideology on this forum.

Sadly yes, my ideology is a fringe one... even the libertarians have more of a following then we communitarians do

Well that's not entirely true, fundamentalist communitarians("conservative communitarians") have a large folloWing. But secular communitarians like me("progressive communitarians") have very little presence anywhere- or to be more accurate, very little voice. Our views, in my experience, are quite common amongst the Australian populace(then again, my perception's biased)

[??????????]

Wow, mandatory abortion? If you were the leader of my nation I'd openly call for a military coup of your dictatorship.