Are You More Liberal Or More Conservative Than The Average DU'er?

[ruggerson]

[ulysses]

1. define "average DUer"

[ruggerson]

2. That's up for you to decide

:hi:

[ulysses]

5. I'm not entirely sure there is such a beast.

:shrug:

[Totally Committed]

3. Truly...

I'm waiting for the definition. This oughtta be good.

TC

[Selatius]

4. I'm sort of a free market socialist, so that generally puts me to the left of most DUers.

I generally believe in healthy competition in markets with the exception being that I favor a policy that promotes worker cooperatives over the traditional business model. I favor workplace democracy, in short, and I favor exercising the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in markets dominated by a few firms, such as the market for television news. I believe in a limited right, not absolute right, to private property. Where my rights end is where the rights of others and the rest of society begin.

In other sectors such as health care or public education, I favor those continuing to be administered by the state, with several reforms to increase quality, and I favor government single-payer health insurance for all, as a basic human right.

Of course, I could be wrong in my assumption that most DUers are not advocates of socialism.

[Tesha]

16. You and I are probably average DUers, but we're way to the left of the LOUDMOUTHS...

You and I are probably average DUers, but we're way
to the left of the LOUDMOUTHS who seem to dominate
the rap around here.

Tesha

[Forkboy]

6. Until you define the "average DUer" for us who can say?

You seem to be thrashing about like a fish out of water lately. :shrug:

[ruggerson]

8. It's not up to me to define

it's up to all of us. I'm sorry I've upset you. Can I send some food?

[Forkboy]

9. Don't know why you think I'm upset.

Your OP is pointless without a definition, so if aimless and moranic posts are your bag, live it up.Just pointing out said moranic aspects.

Thanks for the offer of food, but after reading your posts I suspect I'd need a food tester before eating it.

[ruggerson]

11. Obviously others disagree

since they've already answered the poll. The POINT of the poll is to see where DU'ers THEMSELVES think the "Center" of DU is. Sorry that went over your head.

No food tester needed. I ain't Claudius and you ain't Hamlet.

[Forkboy]

12. Alas, poor Yorick!

Wait...wrong version!

[ruggerson]

15. lol

n/t

[applegrove]

7. I'm Canadian and our left is way left compared to the USA. So on some issues I'm

way to the left and on some I'm to the right. I'm a fiscal conservative but beyond that I'm totally pro union, universal medical care, social programs, etc.

[burythehatchet]

10. mommy always told me I'm above average

[Rhythm and Blue]

13. I am to the left of 95% of America.

It seems the ability to recognize that I am not remotely in the mainstream, however, makes me to the right of the average DUer.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. The left-right label is not too useful in my case.

I am a civil-libertarian, and a fairly radical one.

That puts me in direct opposition to many on DU who are more authoritarian by nature, but those authoritarians are on my right and my left.

The left is best defined in traditional terms as being toward one end of a continuum with monarchism on the opposite pole, and tending toward equal distribution of resources.

I support a universal franchise and support confiscatory taxation of estates beyond a certain level, so I'm definitely on the left, but the political issues that matter most to me are matters of individual rights secured against the state, so tend away from collectivism on many issues.

Since authoritarianism is my biggest bete noir I would have to say I am distinctly to the left of the average DUer if one thinks rights are a leftist notion, but in practice most here would call me conservative because I distrust all concentrations of power, even when ostensibly directed toward a benign goal. (Sometimes concentrations of power are nessecary for economys of scale... like a national health service, which I support despite its otherwise undesirable accretion of power to the govt)

Example: I oppose the Fairness Doctrine because the government should have as limited a role as possible in refereeing the process that creates the government. A government that enforces rules of "fair play" in political debate is better positioned to marginalize or promote views based on whether they pose a threat to the government. When the Fairness Doctrine was canceled in 1987 the two chief proponents of bringing it back were Newt Gingrich and Jesse Helms. Now, only twenty years later, after the rise of Limbaugh et al, now the left wants to bring it back. I say it grants an undesirable power to the government, which is mandating that the government have a definition of "fair" discourse. The government is not supposed to have such opinions. (As a practical matter fair elections can only be run by the government, but there is no equivalent practical necessity for the government to wade into matters of content of political speech. Any such involvement WILL be abused.)

[cobalt1999]

17. Depends on the issue.

I don't label myself in general.

On some issues, I'm way to the left of many here. On other issues, I'm way to the right of many here. On some, I'm about average.

Labeling yourself is just a way of avoiding the need to think about each issue yourself and letting a group do it for you.

[NoPasaran]

18. The only issue I really care about

Is free chips and salsa in Tex-Mex restaurants. I don't recall much discussion about this on DU, so I really have no idea what the "average DUer" thinks about this, nor really any idea whether the left/right distinction is the correct way to evaluate this issue.