VillaTalk Political Temperature (Early 2024)

[Marka Ragnos]

This is an anonymous poll. I realise all such polls are imperfect, but I did my best to choose and name categories that would work for VT; undoubtedly, there will be shortcomings. It closes in a month.

[Marka Ragnos]

I find myself ticking "center" and "center" again. It's accurate, I think. But some issues definitely are more complicated for me than any kind of left/right binary.

I ticked the Immigration issues box, but that's so imperfect because everyone country is so different and there are international dimensions to it. Still, I believe the USA allows in far too few migrants and we're headed toward an inevitable crisis of lacking a viable workforce. The immigration situation in Britain is so different. It's a much more densely populated country, but its economy does seem to be able to absorb additional migrants, so I don't know.

Edited January 27 by Marka Ragnos

[maqroll]

The Texas GOP agitating for armed conflict with federal forces is a possible glimpse into the future. 

Democracy is the top issue for me. Without it, the climate crisis is made more dire.

[Marka Ragnos]

11 minutes ago, maqroll said:

The Texas GOP agitating for armed conflict with federal forces is a possible glimpse into the future. 

Democracy is the top issue for me. Without it, the climate crisis is made more dire.

I agree. And there are still not a few ecofascists out there, too, for whom concern with the environment and democracy are mutually exclusive.

Quote

 

Ecofascism is a term used to describe individuals and groups which combine environmentalism with fascism.[1]

Philosopher André Gorz characterized eco-fascism as hypothetical forms of totalitarianism based on an ecological orientation of politics.[2] Similar definitions have been used by others in older academic literature in accusations of ecofascism of "environmental fascism".[3] However, since the 2010s, a number of individuals and groups have emerged that either self-identify as "ecofascist" or have been labelled as "ecofascist" by academic or journalistic sources.[4] These individuals and groups synthesise radical far-right politics with environmentalism,[5][6] and will typically argue that overpopulation is the primary threat to the environment and that the only solution is a complete halt to immigration or, at their most extreme, genocide against minority groups and ethnicities.[7] Many far-right political parties have added green politics to their platforms.[8][9][10] Through the 2010s ecofascism has seen increasing support.[11]

 

 

[sne]

I would describe myself as all over the place politically depending on the topic and issue. Pretty sure there is no issue I'm far right on thou. 

[LondonLax]

I think the majority of people see themselves as the sensible, common sense, middle ground. It’s pretty unusual to self identify as an extremist. It’s not particularly easy to be objective on these sort of things. 

[chrisp65]

Just now, LondonLax said:

I think the majority of people see themselves as the sensible, common sense, middle ground. It’s pretty unusual to self identify as an extremist. It’s not particularly easy to be objective on these sort of things. 

Everyone to the left of me is a leftie, everyone to the right of me is a wrong ‘un.

So I must be centre.

[Marka Ragnos]

9 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

Everyone to the left of me is a leftie, everyone to the right of me is a wrong ‘un.

So I must be centre.

Jeez, I spelled it American-style on the poll. Sorry. I wish I could fix and make it centre, but I don't think that's open to me now.

[chrisp65]

1 minute ago, Marka Ragnos said:

Jeez, I spelled it American-style on the poll. Sorry. I wish I could fix and make it centre, but I don't think that's open to me now.

Meh, spelling is just made up by the first guys that had pens and presses.

I’m more interested in whether a U.S. centrist would be in the same place as a European centrist.

[fruitvilla]

7 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

Meh, spelling is just made up by the first guys that had pens and presses.

Actually, it is the uneducated that dictate spelling and grammar.

8 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

whether a U.S. centrist would be in the same place as a European centrist.

A European centrist would be a raving leftie in American politics.

[maqroll]

54 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

I agree. And there are still not a few ecofascists out there, too, for whom concern with the environment and democracy are mutually exclusive.

 

It seems to me that those far right "ecofascists" are just exploiting the climate crisis in a very cynical way to advance their ethno-nationalist agenda. I doubt there's a substantial number of them who even agree with prevailing climate science consensus.

[maqroll]

35 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

Jeez, I spelled it American-style on the poll. Sorry. I wish I could fix and make it centre, but I don't think that's open to me now.

YANKEE GO HOME

[Follyfoot]

I voted right on all, I would hate to have everything I’ve worked so hard to be  taken away by people who have no idea of what it means or entails to build a successful business from nothing into a multi million pound concern and then sell it. But this comes with some left, caveats, a number of my people when I sold my company were  able to retire for life, not many bosses do that. So I think probably that puts me dead, Centre?

[Jonesy7211]

I believe that absolute equality starts with everyone having the same opportunities (which we definitely don't have), which pushes me towards the left, but I also believe it's a person's responsibility to make the best of the opportunity. Which pushes me to the right. I'm so confused, so I played safe and said centre.

[sidcow]

I've put me a little to the right. 

I voted Tory in every election till Boris took over. 

I know they've shifted well to the right but I think I've shifted to the left as well as I've got older, my priorities have changed and my eyes (in no small part due to VT) have been more open I believe to the way of the world. 

Right now I can't see me ever again voting Tory again.  I voted Lib Dem last time purely because they were talking about going back into the EU. 

But for that Corbyn was way too far to the left for me so I'd probably have gone Green.

Next election I'll definitely go Labour but I will be watching @Chindieand if they do turn out to be as bad as the Tories I'm going to have to do a hell of a lot of thinking where I go from there. 

Edited January 27 by sidcow

[fruitvilla]

6 minutes ago, sidcow said:

I voted Tory in every election till Boris took over. 

In my youth, I voted for Maggie, and promptly left the country the following January. The interesting thing when I left I was mildly conservative and when I landed in Johannesburg the next day I was a leftie.

These days I vote Liberal in a Canadian context. 

[Chindie]

Social libertarian. A lot of personal freedoms, a lot of social support mechanisms. I'm very driven by concerns of fairness and equality on a personal level - I don't like things that treat people poorly for 'category' reasons - race, sexuality etc, and those are the kind of things I find viscerally angering. I also place a lot of weight on honour and what is morally right over what is required.

For that reason it's easy to get pigeon holed as a lefty (the degree to which depends on the beholder, and how fake Tory they are), but I don't match a lot of traditionally left positions in economic matters - I'm more open to the markets influence than a lot of left people, although I do agree that businesses have to be subject to strict laws to protect things that a pure profit motivation and market alone won't do - employee protections, environmental, anti-monopoly etc for example.

[fruitvilla]

1 hour ago, Marka Ragnos said:

Jeez, I spelled it American-style on the poll.

I think both are correct in British English ... I tend to use center as in the center of a circle, but centre as in a shopping centre

[Mark Albrighton]

I’m the Robert Webb character.

 

[fruitvilla]

This has been posted before ... it's worth a little bit of fun

The Political Compass

It gives a bit of an explanation of what it is about and a review of where it thinks politics is at in certain parts of the world.

I typically score -4, -4 or thereabouts.