Just curious to see where everyone lies in regard to politics. Just as a general-interest thing.
Very limited in choices aren’t you ?
What are nationalists, fascists, anti-fascists, anarchists and marxists to do ?
So, umm, the whole ‘no politics’ thing is out the window now?
Sarah Palin crushed Chuck Norris… so … no… but I assume since it’s only a poll it’s prolly safe so long as (overly) serious conversation doesn’t ensue.
Oh, in that case…
Eh, no Libertarians, Socialists, Communists?
They are one of the same and you know it, so stop drawing lines, its a lie, you don’t have a choice.
I’ve been fairly draconian in my enforcement of no-politics lately, but just as an experiment I’m letting it slide for a bit and see if we can possibly talk like civilized human beings around here. Please don’t let me down.
While it may be appreciative that you’re seeing if we could talk civil about political issues, I’m afraid that’s easier hoped for than done.
While I and others who have been on this forum for years have learned to not be so opinionated/emotional on subjects that it alone derails threads, the fact that Blender is popular and free means we would only be replaced by newer members who are just as opinionated/emotional as we used to be, that and the fact that a lot of people of the former here tend to start being less active after a few years.
Go to any active forum on the internet that allows political threads and you’ll probably see a certain amount of flames thrown every now and then, sometimes a lot (and I know here the fact that you of the moderation can’t watch the Off Topic Forum every minute of the day)
Now if somehow civility did become the norm in political threads, that would be an amazing thing, but how many are holding their breath?
Sadly it seems that life is an experiment that somehow gotten out of hand. Lawrence of Arabia once said that politician is the lowest position of all ? Someone put the world in a test tube and I think the so called leaders know who it is. How else will one become the most powerful person in the planet ? I guess it has to do with the car and the enchantment of the sea dance. Anyone want to be a fish ? The Syrian will have such power, since they are the ones that use songs to effect ones mood.
I’m aware that there are multiple possible political parties; I’m not using “Liberal” or “Conservative” as political parties but rather as general labels. If I put down all the possible divisions of the political spectrum, I’d be spending hours I’d rather spend Blendering 
.
The problem is that there are actually 4 extremes, not 2- people who believe in economic freedom (conservatives), people who believe in personal freedom (liberals), people who believe in both (Libertarians), and people who believe in neither (idiots). Moderates are basically the people who change their mind every election period.
That may be true. My last boss had been an Attorney General, Senator and Governor. But now both lawyers and politicians had kicked him out of their midst.
Needless to say, at the end of my employment, he owed me about $12K in back wages and penalties and his partner, a formerly honorable businessman was facing federal mail fraud charges. :eyebrowlift2:
Even more problematic is that realistically, most people have areas where they are more conservative and areas where they are more liberal.
you forgot one option - refuse to be a tool. 21 century opium for the masses that’s politics. It keeps the masses busy while the Mathew Effect plays out. Why would anyone choose to be this mentally enslaved so if you are a liberal, conservative or moderate or whatever the hell box you choose to jump in are you than supposed to follow some pre-approved script of behavior sounds almost sheep like.
Well, it seems as though pretty much everyone here agrees: you can’t really divide up political beliefs into just three categories.
And I agree with both (jay) and tyrant monkey.
Unfortunately, whoever is in “control” (I use that term loosely… there seem to always be higher powers…) has decided that, at least in America, our government will actually support the party system. The tv networks and papers are closely tied to these parties, and then the “masses” seem to think that the most reported candidates are the only candidates.
And… thus they control who is in control.
What I want to know, tho, is who actually counts the votes :\
I think Jay is right, at least partially. I’m very conservative on some issues, very liberal on others, so I guess “moderate” just describes my average outlook.
As others have said, it’s a fairy limited spectrum of “labels”.
I have no “political affiliation”. But here is my view on current society, and what the problems are:
Individuals are far too dependent on the currently established system. We no longer know how to provide the basic necessities of life for ourselves, without recourse to money, markets, and various organizations. This well known fact ties our very survival with the survival of the organizations which write our paychecks, and so, their survival becomes our priority, and their power both grows and concentrates, to the point where a relatively small group of people has a fairly exclusive claim on a vast quantity of resources. These resources then become leverage which can be used to control a very large group of people, and to further extend existing control in all conceivable areas.
So, the “key question” we need to answer now is this: “How can an individual survive, in a sustainable manner, and in conditions that are safe, decent, and dignified, on $0 dollars a day?”.
More generally: “How do we make money irrelevant in terms of basic survival?”.
We can certainly ignore such questions, in order to quack about the financial system, various politicians, the value of their pointless actions, the relevance of our votes, etc. But, if we do, we may find ourselves working two, or even three concurrent jobs, not to achieve the “American dream” (whatever that is), but just to keep a roof over our head, and some food in our stomach. Totally broken, and completely stuck in an endless precession of workdays, with little time to think about anything except how tired we are.
Don’t count on the new “knowledge economy” to employ you, and everyone you know: businesses are becoming more efficient, meaning that they can do more with less, and among other resources, this includes people.
The future will be characterized by few well-paid jobs, manned by few privileged individuals, and a sea of “others”, who will either work like mules (the 3 job people mentioned above), in shitty service sector jobs, or find a new career in the booming criminal sector, or (my hope) form small self-sustaining communities, which will make local investments (predominantly), and focus on things like food production, and water purification.
Prepare to be disappointed. 
Hmm, 4 or 2, where had I heard this before ? All yes, 4 legs good, 2 legs bad, 4 legs good 2 legs better, we know its a scam either way. 3 parties will give you a 3 legged table. Hey you think that once all three parties find conman ground and will restore the space time continuum