I’m very tired of the misleading simplification, whereby political orientation is classified on a mono dimensional scale between the left and the right. All debate is then falsely interpreted as being part of a tug-of-war between these polarised “extremes”. When in reality, political ideology is multidimensional.

Too often political showdowns are like wrestling matches. Each party focusing on their champion, and ignoring everything outside the ring. It’s time we got to vote electronically on individual issues instead of being made to select the lesser monster on the ballot paper, and then helplessly watch him Welch on his promises for his entire term of office.

Treating discussion as if every statement is either in total support of unbridled capitalism, or the Khmer Rouge, leaves it bereft of subtlety and incapable of expressing new or varied perspectives.
Those who view politics in terms of winning or loosing, should follow sports instead.

Another instance of "divide and conquer"?

Politics has always been about winning or losing. Politics is all about power.

What mainstream apologists for capitalism insist on is the division of political and economic ideologies into separate fields of study. We are, for instance, encouraged to believe that firstly, there is no relationship between say a report on page 3 of a newspaper announcing an increase in the rate of unemployment, and secondly, a report on page 6 of the same newspaper announcing a marked increase in the suicide rate. However, the reality is that there is a dialectical relationship between the socio-political and the economic spheres - they are intimitately woven together......

....In other words, a mutually reinforcing relationship exists between them and hence any one ideology cannot exist in isolation from another. As Marx pointed out, in capitalist liberal democracy one may have the POLITICAL RIGHT to dine at the Ritz, but unless one has the accompanying ECONOMIC MEANS to dine there, the political rights gained count for nothing and are therefore in reality meaningless.

There is a left that spans a great deal of opinions. There is a right that does the same. The opposite extremes is not where most of America is. Most of America IMO is near the center with more subtle differences. Many Americans can find a point to compromise. We have beed living way to far to the Right IMO. It has polarized each side. This creates the great divide. The gap in the middle is frozen out. I think if a third more centerest party formed it would change all that. Not that I would move to that but I see that they views right now are so far apart that there is little room for getting together.

__________________
Bill Ayers for Secretary of Education
The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. Abbie Hoffman
Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people Sharing all the world. John Lennon
I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one. And I believe it could be someday it's going to come. Cat Stevens
Member: Bottom feeders Local 101

Why would you try so hard to sound smart? Just say that you don't like either party and quit wasting our time.

Why would you try so hard to not sound smart?

__________________
R.I.P. Molly, I miss you every day!!

Im a Tarte, what! you want some of this?


And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. Thomas Jefferson

I would suggest that contributors and viewers of these political forums does not indicate whether one is smart or not. Most contributors just like to have a sounding board to share their thoughts, be it good, bad, or intelligent or not. Viewers just like to see in writing what kind of numbnut thoughts are being tossed about. Ain't I smart?

Well, let's face it that typologies only exist to explain what is. They are not, in and of themselves, what is.
They all have flaws, but obviously a multidimensional typology will have fewer flaws. But even multidimensional typologies fail to contain variances based on subtleties in philosophy.

For instance, I would be placed somewhere on the left for economic issues. But this does not explain some of the heavy differences I have from others who would be placed on the left, both in policy and outlook. These differences cannot be quantified on a scale.
The scale is an attempt to quantify something that is more realistically looked at by qualification.

The best typology would actually be a complex grid containing several variables, rather than a chart that is broken into four simple quadrants or a graph with quantified values.
But such a chart would be unhelpful because there would be too many categories.

__________________
That information is classified and to be given only on a need-to-know basis...

And I do not need to know.

I completely agree that there should not exist an essentially binary political system. It simply does not encompass the wide range of political platforms and ideas. And then people complain that elections are about voting for the lesser of two evils...

__________________
Youth Politics

Email: crowtche@juniorpolitics.com