'America Is Evenly Divided Between Progressives/Liberals And Conservatives/Libertarians'
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/11/halpin-teixeria-progressive-study/
Basically, what the studies cited in this article show is that, despite how many Americans define themselves, they are more progressive than they realize. In other words, most people apply labels to their political views, but it seems that a lot of people don't know what those labels actually mean.
I'm glad that Thom Hartmann discussed this article on Wednesday's show. I've been meaning to write a blog related to this topic for a while. My original concept was this:
I know people who identify themselves as 'libertarian.' My discussions with some of these people, however, have lead me to question how they define what 'libertarian' means to them. This is because they often agree with my democratic socialist views (which are antithetical to the basic libertarian philosophy). I realize that labels can take on different meanings from person to person, but not to that extreme.
What do other people think about the political self-identification of Americans? Please note that this post is meant to express my academic curiosity, and not intended to be a criticism of anyone's views.
Basically, what the studies cited in this article show is that, despite how many Americans define themselves, they are more progressive than they realize. In other words, most people apply labels to their political views, but it seems that a lot of people don't know what those labels actually mean.
I'm glad that Thom Hartmann discussed this article on Wednesday's show. I've been meaning to write a blog related to this topic for a while. My original concept was this:
I know people who identify themselves as 'libertarian.' My discussions with some of these people, however, have lead me to question how they define what 'libertarian' means to them. This is because they often agree with my democratic socialist views (which are antithetical to the basic libertarian philosophy). I realize that labels can take on different meanings from person to person, but not to that extreme.
What do other people think about the political self-identification of Americans? Please note that this post is meant to express my academic curiosity, and not intended to be a criticism of anyone's views.