Hi all. Lemmy tends to be rather lefty, so I am not afraid to say that my politics lands on the left as far as US politics goes. So my uncertainty isn’t between left and right, but where I fall on the left.
Since around 2017 I have considered myself a liberal of some form. But I have to confess I did not start really doing a deep dive into politics until this current administration. And I have felt conflicted. I try to listen to different commentators. I’ve listened to Destiny, Hasan, Vaush, and various other people. All as reconnaisance - so to speak - and none of them because I necessarily subscribe to with any real confidence. I’m just trying to hear different perspectives.
If someone mentions something about some policy that was passed some time ago, or mention some political figure I’m not sure I’ve heard of, I go look in to it.
I thought this would help me settle on a solid political stance, but I think it has just caused me more confusion and uncertainty. How do you all do it?
I believe in strong unions, worker protections, universal healthcare, a strong safety net, paying workers a living wage. I want everyone to have food to eat and a place to live. I vote for people who support those things. Sort of. A lot of times no one supports those things so I vote against the one that’s going to make life worse. Go with your core values.
they sure know how to TEASE those things to get votes, and then never bringing it up again.
Don’t listen to what they say, look at their history. Voting, work, etc
Any discussion of political ideals outside of a classroom are nonsensical.
Communist China has billionaires, and North Korea is not a democratic republic.
Look around and see who is actually running for office in your area. Find the ones you agree with the most and try to help them.
I like what former NYC Mayor Ed Koch said. “If you agree with me 51% of the time, vote for me. If you agree with me 100% of the time, see a psychiatrist.”
Everything else is just chin music.
That’s the way I look at it.
You just move left until you feel like applauding the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, then you dial it back until you can support both Palestine and Ukraine while denouncing the CCP.
Don’t try to attach yourself to any specific label or ideology.
Anyone who calls themselves Capitalist, Socialist, Communist, or Anarchist, is going to be wrong somewhere.There is no system that give the best outcomes in every situation. There is no one best answer for everything. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Using the right one for the right situation is going to lead to the best outcomes. And sometimes even a blend will be best.
In short the world is very complex, and everyone is figuring it out as they go. Just be willing to learn and change your mind when the situation calls for it.
The rubber hits the road where you vote. That’s all that matters.
Don’t vote for parties, vote for people. But, no matter who you vote for, know they all lie, and power corrupts. The longer they’re in power, the more corrupt they become. So, like underwear, you should change representatives frequently.
I formalize my ethical beliefs and then think about how to generalize them to society as a whole, I guess (and some of these things have labels already so you use them if they fit). So, if you believe in fairness, you cannot be a capitalist (because why are you entitled to the fruit of another man’s work?); if you believe in solidarity and basic humanity, you cannot be a wealth hoarder in a world full of economic suffering; if you believe in the sanctity of life, you cannot be an imperialist; if you believe in truth, you cannot be a relativist, etc etc. People with uhh questionable political beliefs are either monsters in earnest or just stupid and ignorant grave victims of propaganda.
You’re not going to agree with everything. Why is it important to “correctly” label yourself? Why is it causing you stress in the form of confusion.
My beliefs are based on my principles. It doesn’t matter what my principles are called in politics because definitions change overtime anyway. But my principles do not.
political influencers are the probably the worst to get your opinions from, because they often have a very limited and not a well research view on thier opinions. i would look at actual histories of countries, or the certain demographics, and how they fared in the past,etc.
So first off im democratic over facist. That is just a no brainer for anyone aware of history and with agency. I want a say in how things are run however small. I mention this because when it comes to left and right there are actual and sincere principles, but often it gets away from this into tribalism and just our side win is good. or for everyones good we must have facism. Obviously in the us one party has completely abandoned even the pretense of principles. Even before this I was left. I don’t see the point of my life and everyone elses unless we progress as a species and part of that is making a floor for misery. Social safety nets and such. Part of it is capitalism itself. Its great for things where you can have competition and not everyone needs. Things that everyone needs should be provided by the state at least at a base level. The social safety net floor. Things that have no real competition (like utilities where its just not practical to run multiple electric lines or gas pipes or internet fiber) should also be run by the state. Everything else. tvs, toys, whatnot. totally can be companies fighting it out. Taxes should be collected not just to pay for what society needs but also to curb extreme wealth inequality. No man is worth 100x another man much less 1k or 1m. Regulation should be very prevelent to preserve the health of the country both the populace and the environment and the economy. So im pretty left of center and to me its just the obviously better way to do things as I learned about them.
I start by imagining a society where I could be anyone and if I am unwilling to live as the worst off person in that society; then we need to fix it and then I iterate until everyone has a fair and decent life. That is what I am striving for with the knowledge that as I learn about new things that it will have to adapt and be as painless as a transition as possible; as I expect to be the one taking on that pain.
As othets have mentioned, i believe it’s more important to have a clear understanding of what your personal values and beliefs are. Then search for organisations that align with your beliefs.
For example, some of my values are fairness, honesty, justice, equality and cooperation. I’m not sure if you heard about the recent Mullvad controversy. (The CEO made a large donation to political party and now they have enough funds to be relevent). The party is neither left or right and actually have good socialist policies including a 30 work week. However, they also push ‘national remigration’ i.e ethnic cleansing, removal of all coloured immigrants from the country, racial segregation, you get the idea.
This fundementally goes against my beliefs in equality and cooperation so i could never vote for them in good conscious. I have also stopped my subscription as i no longer want to support a CEO who funds such things.
It is up to you to decide what to believe in and what red lines you draw. Every organisation is susceptible to corruption. I would advise that your principles take priority over party allegiance.
If one truly believes all humans are equal. They should agree that the US regime must end.
It comes down to values. Each political position is really just an intellectual rationalization for a set of values.
When you find a political philosophy that makes sense, it’ll be because the values embedded in it align with yours. (Not because it really is objectively true or correct, although it may seem that way).
Conversely when you see a politician saying the dumbest shit you’ve ever heard, they probably have different values than yours.
If you don’t know what’s important in life, you’ll get politically pulled this way and that without settling anywhere for long. Values become clearer with experience.
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You can’t really trust anybody who claims to give you this answer. What you can do is learn the foundational tools used to decieve and control people and then work backwards to find trustworthy ideas and politicians by process of elimination.
Logical fallacies are the building blocks of rhetoric. Weak arguments rely on them almost entirely. They can be harder to spot in leftist arguments but they’re still present.
You should also check out the foundations of authoritarian control to understand how entire groups of people fall for propaganda. Cults and right-wing authoritarians use the exact same playbook but the left is not free of this. Social media creates a silo effect that structurally enforces many of these.
I think my political views were birthed at the municipal level? It’s less partisan and soundbitey, and it’s easier to understand the cause and effect of decistion-making. These days I worry that with the death of local media, people are no longer engaged in the local scene, and corruption at that level of government will grow as a result.
But it’s a pretty good feeling when something you advocate for is actually implemented and effects positive change to your community, however minor that might be. It doesn’t even require a whole lot of effort. You can fill out an online questionnaire regarding a proposed development in your hood for a start.
But at the municipal level, it’s pretty easy to see what works and what doesn’t. You face it every day. And your views on larger scale issues can develop from there, armed with a well-honed BS-detector. This is not to say you don’t need to study political philosophies and the issues of the day that affect state/national/international politics, but you seem to be doing that already.
