How do you form your political opinions? - Page 4 - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#14819353
Negotiator wrote:It is very required that people in political parties can only progress if the people as a whole vote for them. That means the political party itself shouldnt have any influence at all on whos of their members are getting on the voters list. Instead the voters would directly vote from the list of candidates who would apply. Those candidates that get the most votes from the voters would succeed.


You're free to apply. I know I could apply*. But without an organization behind you the chances of success are very low.

In Switzerland you can put together your own "party list" by writing down the candidates you like. I think it's similar in some other countries. But it's a PITA. Though there's an online tool which puts together candidates based on your political preferences. So far I've always picked one of the standard party lists. I'm a bad citizen :lol:.

*I actually ran once for MP when I was young, part of the youth wing of a certain party. It was more of a joke though, needless to say I had no chance :lol: .
#14819400
Usually I'm unable to form a strong opinion on something until I've read up on it in detail. I'll make a preliminary judgement based on a broader framework but I won't care enough to act on it until I have more information.
#14819401
Negotiator wrote:I dont believe political parties, as they exist right now, are very democratic.

It is very required that people in political parties can only progress if the people as a whole vote for them. That means the political party itself shouldnt have any influence at all on whos of their members are getting on the voters list. Instead the voters would directly vote from the list of candidates who would apply. Those candidates that get the most votes from the voters would succeed.

Further I would want voters to decide all really important decisions during elections instead of the parliament doing that for them. For example changes to the constitution should exclusively only be doable through elections.

Etc.
As corporate power grows and bypasses all the controls of nation-states through "trade" pacts, it becomes ever-more clear to me that all of the political exercises we do: voting, campaigning, electing, and petitioning elected officials afterwards, count less and less as the years go by! The truth is ..at least in North America..we live in Dollaraucracy/not a Democracy! The amount of money you have is your clout to influence government.

Rightwing parties will pretend this system is actually meritocracy, and if you're poor or a marginalized minority of some kind..oh well, I guess you're SOL! But, that is still more honest than the liberals who pretend to be on your side, while jumping through hoops to please the billionaires and corporate donors.
#14819406
AFAIK wrote:Usually I'm unable to form a strong opinion on something until I've read up on it in detail. I'll make a preliminary judgement based on a broader framework but I won't care enough to act on it until I have more information.

That is rare in a world where most people respond on impulse to what their friends say, or emotional appeals of some form or other. Campaign advisers aren't a whole lot different than advertising and marketing execs.

From what developmental psychologists tell us, our core worldview and habits are supposed to be set in place by the time we're in our mid-20's. That would go a long way to explain why I'm still a prog rock fan and am especially repulsed by everything connected with rap and hip-hop music.

But when it comes to political theory and policies, I've been moving against the flow from my 40's through to today. I put it down to:
1. losing all faith in capitalism being part of any worthwhile solutions
2. learning about the scale and severity of environmental crises all coming at us at once today
3. and even moving from a relatively isolated all-white rural community 20 years ago, into an older, working class neighbourhood with immigrants from all over the world, and putting a face on a class of multi-generational poverty, I would have given little consideration other than contempt for previously.
#14819467
There's so much propaganda and spin that you can't judge something until you go to the effort of digging out a proper analysis and often the empirical evidence for that takes years to produce anyway. All too often the headlines you read are a lot more offensive than the actual policies.

To take GMOs as an example; first there was optimism- golden rice, increased yields, resistance to pests and droughts. Then there was concern- potential cross contamination, potential harm to humans, farmers can't save seeds and become beholden to big corporations. In the end different organisms had different effects, some resulted in an increase in pesticide use whilst others reduced the needs for pesticides and many of the problems people complain about are the result of specific business practices rather than the technology.

Also, please don't double post. Put all your quotes and replies into one post.

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