William_the_Bloody

Since there is a Canadian election around the corner, a forum about Canadian politics. (and a poll who you will vote for)

It will be interesting to see who people will vote for. I myself have no political allegiance, I simply (as I believe most people do subconsciously) vote for the party that is going to increase my happiness and life expectancy.

Which is why I'll be voting NDP this time round, as they plan to do the most for student loan debt, the Conservatives F'd me over by consolidating my loans thereby making it harder to pay off.

The Batlord

This is the thing that bothers me about American politics. We've been so trained to throw in our allegiance to one party and demonize the other, that we eventually cease to think critically about their specific policies, making them basically one size fits all.

We need more pragmatism and less ideology. I might agree with many libertarian policies, but it's become almost like a religion, where the concept of personal liberty has become a moral, rather than political stance (i.e. government intervention is wrong because it's theft-by-taxation and quasi-totalitarianism, rather than because they just don't think it works).

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William_the_Bloody

We have the same problem in Canada, and I've noticed that most people on this forum come at politics from an ideological angle. If your left your good, if your right your bad ect.

In general, I loath political ideologies because they operate on religious principles, by offering people utopian visions of the future.

I think the real damage of ideologies though is that they create an intolerance for people who have different political opinions on issues.

I think that people should be able to stand up and freely express their political opinions without fear of being ostracized, provided that they are not extremely repugnant of course.

CLOSER

Truth. I find myself leaning towards a Liberal or NDP vote.. I really just can't stand the Conservative government and believe it's time for a change. My family is seems afraid of the Liberals/NDP stance on the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana.. The shame most of the public who stands against another Conservative term will be divided with the remaining candidates.. I can only hope that youth and first nations exercise their right to vote this election - the numbers are there, and history shows they are less likely to vote for Harper. *crosses fingers*

William_the_Bloody

That's fine, as long as you have practical reasons to vote against the Conservatives.

I'm voting NDP this time around because they are the only party that is offering something substantial for student loan relief. I looked at Trudeau's proposal and it's a mickey mouse joke.

The Batlord

I hear Germany has a decent system in place, that doesn't bother with moral ideology, but just does whatever is most pragmatic, whether it be liberal or conservative. If true, that's the way to go. Bringing morality into politics just opens the door to stupidity and deadlocks.

Logic > emotion.

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John Wilkes Booth

imo it hasn't 'become' a religion - libertarianism grew out of moral and economic philosophy. it has never been rooted in the pragmatic day to day concerns of what works best. except to the extent that an assumption is made that when left to its own devices, the free market will find whatever it is that works best.

it's an ideology that is based on philosophical concepts... people who would like to see it put into practice then apply that philosophy to their position on modern policy issues.

very similar to communism and anarchism in that regard. if you want to say it's a religion then i would suggest that it was born a religion.

William_the_Bloody

Hmmm, I'll decent on the moral issues, I'm fairly libertarian, but I do think social conservatives make some valid arguments. (Some as in not many.)

One of the most influencial professors I ever had was for a philosophy course on moral ethics. He was a dedicated Marxist (Surprise, surprise) who taught us that the cultural right was not a bunch of kooks from the States, but people who had very valid arguments in terms of their philosophy. He made us analyze their arguments inside and out, it really gave me pause to think about my own stances.

I also personally came from a broken home with no father figure, and without going into a two paragraph venture, I'll just say check out the stats on single parent children compared to those who come from a solid two parent familes. The stats aren't to optimistic for kids raised by single parents, though I can't really think of a viable solution to this growing problem.

As for Germany. and other western countries like Italy, Japan & Korea ect. They are smart. They move like a unit and do what's best for the long term national interests of their population. Anglo Saxon countries on a whole tend to be much more libertarian in approach to economics, which definitely has it's advantages, but could possibly be their undoing as well.

grindy

The two biggest parties here are pretty much indistinguishable by now.
They are so scared to do anything that might be unorthodox or controversial, that the more leftist and the more conservative party met in the middle at some point and nowadays kind of just dangle there.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

William_the_Bloody

Doesn't Germany have the advantage of being based on proportional representation? So everyone's vote counts.

In North American & the UK, if you live in the wrong riding, your vote is pretty much wasted. Why even vote in Idaho if your a Democrat or New York if your a Republican.