Subject:
|
Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.off-topic.debate
|
Date:
|
Wed, 18 Aug 2004 09:10:54 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
922 times
|
| |
|
|
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Neb Okla wrote:
| |
“Scott A” dr_scott_arthur@yahoo.co.uk wrote in message
news:I2LoEK.15Cw@lugnet.com...
| |
| |
I know I’m more likely to ask conservative friends with Libertarian leanings
to take the quiz (which might account for the reason that there are a lot
more Libertarians than Right-Conservatives). Still, I wouldn’t call the
Libertarian segment an “overwhelming majority”.
|
Please check the date on the site I cited.
|
Or you could say “oops, that information is outdated”.
|
Or you could say, “oops, a small part of that information is outdated”. ;)
| |
| |
Can the results be slanted by some sort of “bot”?
|
It could be slanted by any nuimber of factors. The point of the quiz is to
help people approximate where on the political spectrum they might be.
|
But everyone here, and the site I cited, appears to feel the quiz does not do
that. Why do you think different?
| |
In
my own experience it does this well. But when I discuss it with you, all of
a sudden you treat it like some kind of global survey of political views.
Nobody ever suggested this was the case.
|
What makes you think that is my view?
| |
The only example I’ve seen first hand of a person disagreeing with the
results of the quiz was a friend who fancied himself a Libertarian but ended
up to the far Right (largely to some rather fundamental religious beliefs).
| |
I’m sorry! Please don’t invade my tiny country! ;)
|
You have no oil!
|
We do. The UK is almost self-sufficient. Up until a few months ago we were a net
exporter. Just as the oil price starts to rocket, we become net importers! ;(
| |
And you already have a McDonalds.
|
So I hear. I can’t say I’m their biggest customer.
| |
Do you have a Wal-Mart
yet? Hmm...
|
Yes. They bought the UK’s most dowdy supermarket chain and took it further
downmarket… quite impressive in a way. If I ever want food (etc) based of
quantity and price (rather than quality), I’ll know where to go! ;)
| |
| |
| |
You may see
yourself as a right-conservative within your national or contientental
political spectrum while being somewhere else on the spectrum in a different
place.
In another post you said:
“I find it hard to see how a ‘Right-Conservative’ could be against free
speech or
voluntary military service?”
You need only look as far as fascists.
|
I’m not sure ‘Right-Conservative’ = fascist ?
|
Fascists are right-wing authoritarians. I never said that all Right-wingers
are fascists, but fascists are right-wing.
|
Hmm. I’ll start again. I find it hard to see how a ‘Right-Conservative’ (see the
quiz’s definition) could be against free speech or voluntary military service?
| |
| |
| |
Later in the other post you said:
“I’d also love to see how taxes could be cut by 50%...”
I guess to understand you’d have to estimate that at least half of the money
we pay in taxes is wasted on needless bureaucracy. By eliminating the
Bureaucracy (or attempting to), it would not be hard to save a lot of tax
dollars.
|
50% on bureaucracy? Are you sure?
|
Do you have trustworthy numbers that prove otherwise?
|
No. You should produce data to support your argument. If your not
careful you’ll get confused with John, Larry et al.
| |
There seem to be a
lot of cases around the world of bureaucrats making bad financial decisions
and not being held accountable for them. We have the Canadian Gun Control
Registry as one example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiangunregistry
We have the US Halliburton issue, and to many incidents of “Pork Barrel
Spending” to count.
Then we have Public funding for massive arenas that don’t live up to
expectations...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5722300/
|
You are confusing bureaucracy with corruption and mismanagement.
| |
| |
| |
In one prominent case, by allowing companies other than Halliburton (and
it’s affiliates) to support US forces and assist in rebuilding Iraq. One
need not look far for other examples of government waste.
|
Hmm. Would “rebuilding Iraq” be part of a libertarian agenda?
|
You don’t have to rebuild stuff you don’t blow up in the first place.
Still, with France, Germany, China, North Korea and others ignoring the
embargo, and Saddam not budging as a result, I didn’t see a pleasant
non-military solution coming.
|
I note you have not answered my question. Would “rebuilding Iraq” be part of a
libertarian agenda?
| |
| |
This may scare you, but Socialism is not without its merits:
- Have you experienced the quality of life in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway
|
Have you?
|
Yes.
| |
I have no complaints about my quality of life.
|
Until I tasted malt whisky, I had no complaints about the cheap blended stuff
either.
| |
| |
- Have you compared the Cuban healthcare system to that millions of your countrymen do not have?
|
Every American is guaranteed free healthcare. If a patient walk into a
hospital that accepts Medicaid, they must be treated.
|
Really? But as a libertarian,
you’d want to abolish that! BTW What
standard is that service?
| |
Of course, many countries with “Socialized Medicine” also offer private
hospitals for the wealthy.
|
Some also pay for their nationals to go to private hospitals.
| |
If they’re so great, why do so many wealthy
foreigners come here to study medicine and recieve critical medical care?
|
Let’s turn that around, if the private system is so great why is “Medicaid”
required?
| |
| |
- Did you know that the worlds best healthcare system (France) is state run, and
|
I’d like to see some figures to back up those claims.
|
See my reply to Larry.
| |
| |
| |
For one, Libertarianism extols a belief in ones self and personal
responsibility for the wellbeing of society. The religions I am familiar
with typically encourage a belief in an imaginary man in the sky who
protects you from personal responsibility.
|
Are you sure about that?
|
Yes.
|
I think you are confusing fatalism with faith.
| |
| |
By “predicted”, do you mean “approximated”? Libertarianism may be a theory,
but it is not physics.
|
Everything “predicted” by physics is really an approximation.
|
Yes, but is also tested. The nearest we have come to libertarianism was
Pinochet’s Chile. The nearest we have come to a free market was pre-handover
Hong Kong. Is either of those attractive to you?
| |
It all
depends on how accurate and precise your measurements are.
Libertarianism is also not a hat.
|
“Nice straw-man.” I has not comparing it to a hat.
| |
| |
| |
If we’re being taxed too much (by our own estimation) and we see a lot of
government waste going on, and we suggest that the government should “stop
wasting our money” and take less from us - it seems ridiculous to balk and
say “That solution is too elegant!”.
|
Saying you’d abolish social security and reduce taxation by 50% without
thinking about the consequences is irresponsible. If social security were
cut, what would happen to crime?
|
Nobody said anything about abolishing social security. Nice straw-man.
|
See the quiz: “Replace government welfare with private charity”. How did you
answer that question?
Are you saying that as a libertarian you’d want to keep social security?
| |
| |
Let’s pretend Bush cuts bureaucracy right now and reduces taxation across the
board by (say) 5%. What do you think would happen? I’d guess inflation (and
interest rates) would rise sharply. What do you think?
|
So you think that bureaucracy and taxes keep inflation in check?
I think people would just have more money to pump into a stronger economy.
|
…which would fuel inflation and raise interest rates! Think about it!
Neb, you seem like a smart compassionate guy. Look beyond this libertarian
selfishness and your “white, male, middle to upper-middle class” libertarian
friends and you will see that there is a better way.
Scott A
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
|
| "Scott A" <dr_scott_arthur@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message news:I2LoEK.15Cw@lugnet.com... (...) leanings (...) lot (...) Or you could say "oops, that information is outdated". (...) It could be slanted by any nuimber of factors. The point of the quiz (...) (20 years ago, 17-Aug-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
|
16 Messages in This Thread:
 
  
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
