Monday, April 28, 2008
Political Affiliations
Often my political opinions would be categorized as conservative in the US. That doesn't match my stance on immigration, the legal drinking age, "faith-based initiatives", etc. I'm also apathetic on the war in Iraq, because it's a mess now, but it wasn't exactly Disneyland under Saddam Hussein either. But I don't call myself a conservative, maybe a lower-case L libertarian or something. Conservative and Liberal are relative terms, which make them, like most other labels in American politics, worthless. If it's very easy to read too much into a label, it's probably a terrible label.
What is conservative? Is George W. Bush conservative? He oversaw a huge expansion of government, including a new entitlement program. If he's a conservative, is Ronald Reagan a liberal? If cutting taxes made Bush a conservative, and thus Clinton a liberal, was Bush Sr. a liberal? And was JFK a conservative? If supporting free trade is conservative, is George W Bush a liberal for supporting steel tarriffs? I could go on forever, but I don't want to.
Then there's the abortion debate. Pro-Life and Pro-Choice are propagandist labels; Pro-Abortion or Anti-Abortion would be more accurate. Think about it - how many of those who are Pro-Life truly oppose all taking of life from others, including war, capital punishment, the FDA, mandatory indefinite life support, and other sources. For that matter, though, how many people who call themselves Pro-Choice support school choice, freedom from closed or union shops, free trade, eliminating the FDA, assisted suicide, and other libertarian positions? Again, there are people in both camps - but those are not the only ones who bear those labels.
Further, the opposite of Pro-Life is not Pro-Death or Anti-Life, but Pro-Choice. Isn't this odd? You have to choose whether you live or get to choose something. Why can't people just say pro-abortion and anti-abortion? That's all it is. Not much to read into that. For that matter, why can't we just use our coordinates on the political compass? As they write
What is conservative? Is George W. Bush conservative? He oversaw a huge expansion of government, including a new entitlement program. If he's a conservative, is Ronald Reagan a liberal? If cutting taxes made Bush a conservative, and thus Clinton a liberal, was Bush Sr. a liberal? And was JFK a conservative? If supporting free trade is conservative, is George W Bush a liberal for supporting steel tarriffs? I could go on forever, but I don't want to.
Then there's the abortion debate. Pro-Life and Pro-Choice are propagandist labels; Pro-Abortion or Anti-Abortion would be more accurate. Think about it - how many of those who are Pro-Life truly oppose all taking of life from others, including war, capital punishment, the FDA, mandatory indefinite life support, and other sources. For that matter, though, how many people who call themselves Pro-Choice support school choice, freedom from closed or union shops, free trade, eliminating the FDA, assisted suicide, and other libertarian positions? Again, there are people in both camps - but those are not the only ones who bear those labels.
Further, the opposite of Pro-Life is not Pro-Death or Anti-Life, but Pro-Choice. Isn't this odd? You have to choose whether you live or get to choose something. Why can't people just say pro-abortion and anti-abortion? That's all it is. Not much to read into that. For that matter, why can't we just use our coordinates on the political compass? As they write
There's abundant evidence for the need of it. The old one-dimensional categories of 'right' and 'left', established for the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789, are overly simplistic for today's complex political landscape. For example, who are the 'conservatives' in today's Russia? Are they the unreconstructed Stalinists, or the reformers who have adopted the right-wing views of conservatives like Margaret Thatcher?I'm (7.75,-0.36).
