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Left vs. Right or Extreme vs. Moderate?

Discussion in 'Archive: The Senate Floor' started by Terr_Mys, Aug 9, 2002.

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  1. Terr_Mys

    Terr_Mys Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    Maybe somebody will have an opinion on this...perhaps a question prompt would help...

    Do you think that the United States needs more than 2 political parties now? Are the disagreements between members of the same party delaying progress, or is the basic 2-party system good for keeping people with similar idealogies together? Should political parties be abolished altogether, or are they vital to the political system?

    Please share your thoughts. :)
     
  2. Rebecca191

    Rebecca191 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 1999
    I honestly don't know. I guess I'm mostly a Democrat, but there are a few things I support that are more Republican (like the Death Penalty). I dunno. I guess I consider myself a moderate Democrat, even though I can't even vote yet. Political parties have their ups and downs, I suppose.
     
  3. Darth_OlsenTwins

    Darth_OlsenTwins Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 18, 2002
    I think that the2-party system has created a duopoly of sorts. Have you ever noticed that the Dems and the Reps have cornered the market on all the issues? If one is slightly for it, the other is slightly against it. They have the most voices and the loudest microphones. The two parties may disagree with each other, but they also need each other.

    I truly believe this is because they have an interest in keeping the status quo. They always end up converging to the middle anyway. I also believe that regardless of the "ruling" party, that not much more different things will be accomplished politically. With the exception of the extremists on both sides, I think that collectively, as a whole, the two parties end up being the same party with two different names.

     
  4. Coolguy4522

    Coolguy4522 Jedi Youngling star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2000
    I guess I must have done something wrong because I am not at the extreme end of either end. In fact, I am more in the middle than I thought. Mabey it is because I just don't care on many issues.

    Economic Left/Right: -0.62
    Authoritarian/Libertarian: 1.18
     
  5. Ociredor

    Ociredor Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 9, 2002
    I think that there are alot of ppl who feel they are best in the middle between Republican and Democrat. I lean a bit towards the Democrat side, but I tend to stay pretty much toward the center.
     
  6. Terr_Mys

    Terr_Mys Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    I think Americans are generally fairly moderate, anyways. The compass system was developed in Europe, and, after all, the most extreme points include Hitler and Stalin. But here in America, (or at least in my school) we are still taught with the simple left/right line. As in, left = change for equality, right = maintain the status quo. This just seems like a really outdated system to me. After all, there are Democrats who are in favor of maintaining the status quo, and Republicans who favor change. And it was the Republican party that pushed to abolish slavery, right?
     
  7. Waning Drill

    Waning Drill Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 1999
    I think the Democrat/Republican stereotypes were turned on their heads somewhat after FDR took office. The mean Republican and Democratic mindsets are simply not the same things they were in the late 1800s.

    I generally support the idea of political parties. After all, no one man can get things done in Congress without supporters. But parties should be more superficial, I believe, and not so regulated. I shouldn't have to tell anyone what party I am a member of when I go to vote, or change my affiliation should I choose an alternate candidate. I am voting for the person foremost, not the party as a body.
     
  8. Jon_Snow

    Jon_Snow Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2001
    According to the political compass, I?m at ?3.62 on an economic basis, and ?4.10 on an authoritarian/libertarian basis. So I?m in the same range as Gandhi. This actually came as a slight surprise to me; I thought that I?d be closer to the center. I disagree with most liberals on issues of race and foreign policy, and I disagree with most conservatives on economic and environmental policy.
     
  9. Terr_Mys

    Terr_Mys Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    Yes, earlier in the thread we were discussing some possible faults in the compass test.

    I personally made some diagrams to see if I could plot the different idealogies for certain issues. Economic issues were fairly easy to plot, but the social issues were a bit harder. For example, I had a hard time telling which end of the social spectrum would support the death penalty: fascism, or anarchism? My insticts told me that anarchism would oppose the death penalty, because anarchists would argue that the government has no right to condemn someone to death. But then, what about those who oppose the death penalty based on moral grounds? In a sense, the section of the compass test on religion and morals doesn't really fit into the political spectrum, IMO.
     
  10. Darth Mischievous

    Darth Mischievous Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 12, 1999
    According to this site:

    Economic Left/Right: 1.12
    Authoritarian/Libertarian: 0.26


    I'm a moderately conservative Republican in political ideology, so I guess this fits.
     
  11. DARTHPIGFEET

    DARTHPIGFEET Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2001
    Though many on this board may be shocked I'm really a Moderate who will lean more towards the right than the left.

    My paradox is I can't stand the extreme left or right and I'm left dangling. So that is why I'm independent.
     
  12. chibiangi

    chibiangi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2002
    moderately conservative Republican


    Ok....
     
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