General Chat

Janey, I must admit I don't know much about the US or Canadian union history. I had sort of given up thinking about politics after being so disappointed with New Labour - I think I need to do some reading so the quiz site looks like a good start.

Then when the young people I know mention politics I can explain why it's still worth voting - I must know at least a dozen who have never bothered because "there's no point; they're all crooks".

Gotta go now; hope this thread keeps going.

Economic Left/Right: -5.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.31

Been an extremely long day so will have to analyse what it means when I'm more awake. Just know that I'm near the middle of the green box.

So all of us in the green box have a whole lot more in common than it might appear at times.

I generally find it's useful and wise to establish at the outset the values that are shared, and then move on to discussing a particular issue.

Like --

Okay, we both agree that people should generally be 'free' to do what they want, with their bodies, in their homes, when no one else is harmed or interfered with.

Okay, we both agree that sometimes laws are needed to try to stop people from doing things that are really bad for them - because some people need protecting (and there are people who will try to make a profit by getting them to do things that harm themselves), and because it can be bad for society when people harm themselves.

So ... should drug possession be legal, or not??

Some drugs (marijuana but not heroin?) ... some people (adults but not children?) ... some places (homes but not cars?) ... only certain amounts (using but not selling?) ...?

Like that. ;)

Reasonable people of good will who have very closely shared values, even, can disagree on what should be done about many things, and the rightness and wrongness of many things.

OK I'm at work and looking busy.

Where are the people who scored outside of the green box.

Come on, 'fess up. There just has to be someone out there who idealizes Kevin Rudd, Stephen Harper and Mr Brown. We can't all take to the forest, eat nuts and leaves, embrace our fellow humans and hug trees.

Where's the balance in all this political mumbo jumbo.

How many learned their political leanings at their mother's knee. Mum and Dad vote for Kermit and he is a good pollie so you probably need to vote for his party as well.

How did your political enthusiasm change once you grew up, married and started being swayed by spouse, friends etc.

I know mine certainly did. Brought up in a labour orientated family, and married someone from a country party (liberally connected) family. Then changed affiliation to liberals because the continuation of our food in the mouth and roof over the head, depended on liberal's support for our government department.

The question which prompted this thread was to do with "who does one vote for". The gulf between liberal and labour in Australia is now so narrow one could close the eyes, listen to a political argument and not know who was offering the argument.

Oh look - case in point - sometimes you can get along just fine even with somebody whose values & views are obviously completely evil. ;)

Which box *are* you in? On the right of zero obviously -- but above or below zero on the other axis? Upper right, or lower right?

Did you look at the Aussie 2007 party graph?

http://www.politicalcompass.org/aus2007

Your Greens are very close to my New Democratic Party - slightly lefter than where the NDP is now (about where the NDP was in 2005 - hm, we've moved right?), equally libertarian for where the NDP is now (and the NDP is slightly more libertarian than we were in 2005).

And yup, your "Labor" is right up there in the right-wing / authoritarian quadrant with all other Australian parties except for Greens and Democrats. In fact the Aussie graph is almost identical to the UK one.

Barack Obama is in that blue quadrant too ... along with Sarah Palin and John McCain. At least my man Joe Biden is the least worst of the lot there. ;)

I have just been informed by PM that someone had done the quiz and is Gandhi.

Hmm. Would Gandhi have been quite that prideful?

;)

Now I ticked the make it legal box for the porn and no for the weed for the your own use box, My mum was in the civil service when she married do you know they didnt even have ladies loos in her buliding she used to go to John Lewis to pee and this was 1957 she too left when she married she thinks ts wonderful that my sister gets paid the same amount as my OH for the doing the same job, she was a trained nurse before that and went back part time when my sisters were babies Dad was a tool setter.

Ha Ha AuntyS..
I have just squashed you in that square...

Okay, now i do just feel stupid. Did AuntyS say which box she was in that you Fanny have just joined her in? Or are we assuming "blue", i.e the Authoritarian Right, right up there with Maggie and Adolph??

I qoute from AuntyS,s post.

Eight squares up from the bottom, seven squares in from the left hand side in the green quadrant . Slightly below the centre on the left.


Edit...
I was not quite exact,I have one foot in the each of the 6th and 7th squares from the left,so standing room is still available.

The ruddy Edit button has gone AWOL.
But I was going to say I was not precise enough.
I have one foot in the each of the 6th and 7th squares from the left,so standing room is still there.

Economic Left/Right -2.88

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian -4.00

Just slightly below where Shonberg (sp) the Composer is sitting

Also almost where Australian Green Party is

Allan

Okay, I am stupid. I read through her posts and couldn't see that at all.

So she really is in the green quadrant, just not as far in as some of us. ;) And you too Fanny of course.

And Allan, a somewhat more respectable showing!

Nobody's admitting to being an authoritarian right-winger yet ...

Hmm, composers, hadn't paid attention to that either. I go out past Prokofiev and Bartok. Probably about where Fish Karma lies. ;)

Now how about voting?

Do people vote the way the charts suggest?

Allan - do you vote Green?

Obviously a lot of other considerations come into it - like the fact that nobody else might vote for one's matching party so it hardly seems worth it. ;)

Liberal.

Having done the quiz I'm in the green square, 5 squares from the vertical line and 6 squares from the horizontal line. The red dot is in the bottom left hand bit of the little square if that makes sense.

Yeah, see, I have the luxury of voting NDP, which is at least in the same quadrant as me, and which happens to win the seat where I live much of the time (so I don't have to vote strategically Liberal to avoid splitting the anti-Conservative vote).

I just don't know what I'd do in the UK. I think it might depend on the riding, the candidate and the circumstances, whether I voted Labour or Liberal Democrat. Or Green. ;)

You guys! The thing gives you your "score" right above the graph.

So Cãt, you're about

-5 (economically left)
-6 (libertarian)

Highly respectable. ;)

Janey I just came back to edit my post but you're about right lol

It just ocurred to me that I could simply copy and paste, you'll have to excuse me, it's late and I'm tired. Here you go.

Economic Left/Right: -4.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.79