What Do You Believe?

[st_rev]

...Politically, I mean. What do you think about politics and economics? I don't want to know what you're against. Tell me what you're for. I promise not to make fun of you. Not today, anyway.

(Did this four years ago, seems like it's worth a repeat.)

Comments

[anonymous]

Rule one for both:

We are Capital. We exploited, until today. It's only fair if these things we have tried to keep secret are now in the open ... here they come ....

[st_rev]

I have no idea what this comment means but I unscreened it anyway.

[rfrancis]

Personal liberty in abundance, but short of unfettered ability to do damage to others. A democractically (except REALLY) arrived-at social contract where we keep each other's tails out of the fire (literally or metaphorically). A large helping of minding one's own business.

Where the water's edge is on all of these things is a tricky business; if making a society was easy, everyone would do it. Okay, everyone does it but it often sucks.

[rfrancis]

Wait, wait, Neal Peart is there for me.

I remain the optimist: you just do your best and hope for the best. But it’s an evolving state of mind. I still totally believe in individual rights and individual responsibility and in choosing to do good. On the liberal side of things, they go to an extreme of how people need to be led, and they can’t handle freedom. Pure libertarianism believes that people will be generous and help each other. Well, they won’t. I wish it were so, and I live that way. I help panhandlers, but other people are, “Oh look at that-why doesn’t he get a job?” While I believe in all that freedom, I also believe that no one should suffer needlessly.He also goes on to say that he can't see how someone can follow Christ and be a Republican in this day, which I have to say is a topic that causes me a great deal of stress (not because I'm a Republican -- I'm not, and quite for that reason -- but because our church is wall to wall Republicans save for us) and about which I have few answers. But the above is pretty solidly

[tenzil]

I am a Parkerist. I believe that with great power comes great responsibility.

[dougo]

I'm for reasoned action based on accurate data.

[marlowe1]

A balance between Socialism and Free Market Capitalism that allows for liberty and innovation without sacrificing either safety nets or exterior controls that stop most business people from robbing their investors, employees, fellow citizens blind.

Welfare state.

Keynesian economics.

Civil rights for homosexuals and minorities.

[mothwentbad]

I think I'm down with the whole list, though I'm quite far from and expert on economics and I only have a vague-but-positive impression of what Keynes is about

[marlowe1]

I realized that I had been writing WAY too many business papers (I write term papers as a job - I feel so dirty) when I discussed population explosion and people having less children (as well as rights for homosexuals) in terms of "the market correcting itself"

The thesis was sound since basically I was saying that before Germ theory and modern medicine, a couple could have 10 kids, see 2 of them live to be adults and then they could have 10 kids apiece and only have two live to adulthood. So that original couple has 10 kids and ends up with a sum total of 4 grandchildren. However, if all the kids are going to survive then breeding in that capacity means that there are 100 grandchildren. So people then stop having so many children because they know that they are going to have to deal with all of their kids.

It makes sense, but damn that phrase bugs me.

[st_rev]

It's just another kind of ecosystem, man. That's what they do.