- 15 Dec 2013 21:01
#14341552
I've been wondering whether I should call myself a libertarian or not. Maybe another label would be more indicative. Some positions:
- The government should be completely secular. That said, things like "In God We Trust" on the currency aren't that big of a deal (I'd like it removed, but it's a very low priority) - the problem is when actual laws are based on religion.
- Religion isn't only bad when it influences politics - it (and spirituality in general) are bad because they are incorrect and impede consistent rational thinking. Religion is especially bad when it's involved in politics, but it's bad by itself too.
- Abortion should be legal at all stages of pregnancy, and should probably be subsidized.
- Ideally, the government would only be involved in marriage to the extent that marriage is a contract between consenting parties - there should be no tax benefits or penalties for married couples. Any consenting adults should be free to make these contracts with anybody else - so same-sex, polygamous, and consanguineous marriage should be legal. As a second-best alternative, as long as the government is involved in marriage, same-sex marriage should be treated the same as heterosexual marriage.
- The national security state should be dismantled. Repeal the Patriot Act, end domestic NSA espionage, abolish the TSA.
- End the War on Drugs, and legalize all drugs. While I'm personally opposed to their use, I'm against using force to prevent their use, too.
- Prostitution should be legal.
- Human cloning, genetic enhancement, and such should all be legal as long as the cloned/enhanced individual (if they're developed to the point of being a human) is no worse off for it.
- GMOs should be legal and unlabeled.
- I'm against things like affirmative action and non-discrimination laws in business. People should be free to hire and fire whomever they want, as long as there's no breach of contract in doing so. Racism and sexism are bad, but alone (when not coupled with rights violations) don't justify the use of force against racists and sexists.
- Feminism is a good social movement, though I'm against some common feminist political goals. Ideally, normative gender roles would be abolished altogether.
- There should be parental licensing. Parents should be required to pass a test on basic parenting skills and have a certain level of income before they would be allowed to have a child.
- There should be no immigration laws - there should be as few barriers to moving from Mexico to the US as there are to moving from New York to Texas. However, open borders doesn't mean open citizenship - immigrants should not be allowed to collect from the welfare state (if there is one) or to vote, unless they obtain citizenship.
- All taxes should be replaced by a sales tax. Its regressiveness should be countered by a tax rebate.
- Anthropogenic global warming is real, and should be countered by a green tax shift - a general tax cut paired with an increase in the gasoline tax.
- There should be no barriers to international trade.
- The minimum wage should be abolished.
- The welfare state should be abolished. As a second-best alternative, the current welfare state should be abolished and replaced with a basic income.
- Health care reform: Repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), abolish the employee tax break for offering health insurance, abolish Medicare and Medicaid, simplify contracts between insurers and insurance buyers, and strongly enforce them (to prevent insurance companies from unexpectedly dropping clients when they get sick).
- The FDA should not be able to ban medicine, only to require medicine that has not been approved to be labeled as "Not Approved". Similarly, anyone should be allowed to practice medicine, but those who aren't qualified doctors should be required to label themselves as such.
- Unlike most libertarians, I don't want to abolish the Federal Reserve, and don't support the gold standard. The Federal Reserve should, however, be bound by a rule: it should target nominal GDP.
- Eminent domain should be abolished.
- The government shouldn't have bailed out the banks or the car manufacturers. Instead, it should have investigated the banks for fraud.
- Right-to-work laws should be abolished.
- Historically, the government and big business have been close friends. Much of what has been or is currently called "free market" is actually corporatism. Big business lobbies for protection against smaller competitors, a favorable foreign policy, etc.
- The military should be significantly reduced in size, and only used for defensive wars, not for imperialism or "humanitarian interventions".
- Patriotism/nationalism are evil. The government is nothing more than a service provider, and one's "nation" is mostly comprised of strangers, so it makes no more sense to be loyal or deferential to one's government or nation than it does to be deferential to one's plumber or a random guy down the street.
- The justice system should be based on two principles: most importantly restitution to the victim, and secondarily, deterrence.
Political compass results:
Economic Left/Right: 3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44
- The government should be completely secular. That said, things like "In God We Trust" on the currency aren't that big of a deal (I'd like it removed, but it's a very low priority) - the problem is when actual laws are based on religion.
- Religion isn't only bad when it influences politics - it (and spirituality in general) are bad because they are incorrect and impede consistent rational thinking. Religion is especially bad when it's involved in politics, but it's bad by itself too.
- Abortion should be legal at all stages of pregnancy, and should probably be subsidized.
- Ideally, the government would only be involved in marriage to the extent that marriage is a contract between consenting parties - there should be no tax benefits or penalties for married couples. Any consenting adults should be free to make these contracts with anybody else - so same-sex, polygamous, and consanguineous marriage should be legal. As a second-best alternative, as long as the government is involved in marriage, same-sex marriage should be treated the same as heterosexual marriage.
- The national security state should be dismantled. Repeal the Patriot Act, end domestic NSA espionage, abolish the TSA.
- End the War on Drugs, and legalize all drugs. While I'm personally opposed to their use, I'm against using force to prevent their use, too.
- Prostitution should be legal.
- Human cloning, genetic enhancement, and such should all be legal as long as the cloned/enhanced individual (if they're developed to the point of being a human) is no worse off for it.
- GMOs should be legal and unlabeled.
- I'm against things like affirmative action and non-discrimination laws in business. People should be free to hire and fire whomever they want, as long as there's no breach of contract in doing so. Racism and sexism are bad, but alone (when not coupled with rights violations) don't justify the use of force against racists and sexists.
- Feminism is a good social movement, though I'm against some common feminist political goals. Ideally, normative gender roles would be abolished altogether.
- There should be parental licensing. Parents should be required to pass a test on basic parenting skills and have a certain level of income before they would be allowed to have a child.
- There should be no immigration laws - there should be as few barriers to moving from Mexico to the US as there are to moving from New York to Texas. However, open borders doesn't mean open citizenship - immigrants should not be allowed to collect from the welfare state (if there is one) or to vote, unless they obtain citizenship.
- All taxes should be replaced by a sales tax. Its regressiveness should be countered by a tax rebate.
- Anthropogenic global warming is real, and should be countered by a green tax shift - a general tax cut paired with an increase in the gasoline tax.
- There should be no barriers to international trade.
- The minimum wage should be abolished.
- The welfare state should be abolished. As a second-best alternative, the current welfare state should be abolished and replaced with a basic income.
- Health care reform: Repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), abolish the employee tax break for offering health insurance, abolish Medicare and Medicaid, simplify contracts between insurers and insurance buyers, and strongly enforce them (to prevent insurance companies from unexpectedly dropping clients when they get sick).
- The FDA should not be able to ban medicine, only to require medicine that has not been approved to be labeled as "Not Approved". Similarly, anyone should be allowed to practice medicine, but those who aren't qualified doctors should be required to label themselves as such.
- Unlike most libertarians, I don't want to abolish the Federal Reserve, and don't support the gold standard. The Federal Reserve should, however, be bound by a rule: it should target nominal GDP.
- Eminent domain should be abolished.
- The government shouldn't have bailed out the banks or the car manufacturers. Instead, it should have investigated the banks for fraud.
- Right-to-work laws should be abolished.
- Historically, the government and big business have been close friends. Much of what has been or is currently called "free market" is actually corporatism. Big business lobbies for protection against smaller competitors, a favorable foreign policy, etc.
- The military should be significantly reduced in size, and only used for defensive wars, not for imperialism or "humanitarian interventions".
- Patriotism/nationalism are evil. The government is nothing more than a service provider, and one's "nation" is mostly comprised of strangers, so it makes no more sense to be loyal or deferential to one's government or nation than it does to be deferential to one's plumber or a random guy down the street.
- The justice system should be based on two principles: most importantly restitution to the victim, and secondarily, deterrence.
Political compass results:
Economic Left/Right: 3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44
Economic Left/Right: 3.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44
Free to Choose
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44
Free to Choose