Why are you what you are?

[lala]

No timewasting "Dad got lucky one night and nine months later ..." type responses, please.

Summary, please, of your political beliefs and what you think has shaped them.

i.e. Would you call yourself broadly left or right, where are you at odds with that definition, where in harmony? WHat has shaped your political awareness, made you support one party or movement over another - or made you resile from a political ideology?

[yord]

as one that was destained to have wealth in abundance, where no luxury was forbidden to tempt, or unafordable, I often find myself asking that very question

[yord]

the voodoo preist ( who is still on holiday in Majorca ) reckons that its all somewhat nonsense. He elaborates that there are in fact many editions of me and some of them even vote.

[peakman]

man.

[radge]

i go from left to right depending on my mood. Generally i would say im more left than right. Life experience has shaped my views and im not a political beast anyway. I hate politics and the people that rule us, i think they are all monkeys and power hungry. Dont trust any of them. Our system does work though, but its far from perfect and alot more things need to be made black and white or kept black and white and not messed with.

[yord]

from birth we are conditioned to expect instruction, teaching , and leaders and when people are told we dont need any of it they get nervous, then distrustfull , angry, and then dissapointed, so why the feck do people crave for someone to guide them . The whole world is more complex than your wildest fantasies so just tell them to feck off

[newyorker]

Why are you what you are?

Good question, because of a very clear moral code.

Basically, I'm of the opinion that if you couldn't do it in the 1950's, it's wrong.

[cheyenne]

Good thought-provoking question. I take it the question is solely about what sort of politics do we believe in, so I'll just go down that path.

Looking at where today's mainstream political parties are, I would describe myself as middle-wing. That doesn't mean I sit on the fence, anybody who has read (and might recall) my previous posts in other groups would know I'm an opinionated so-and-so anyway. For example, I don't believe public services should in private hands, but at the same time I was grateful for the opportunity to buy my council-owned property and become a property owner. Could I be a capitalist socialist? The tag would be a misnomer, so I invented my own and call myself middle-wing.

I was raised in a mining town where everybody voted Labour because in the old days, Labour really was for "the working class", Trade Unions and their ilk. At first I followed that old tradition, voting as my parents had always voted, until after I left college and moved to London where my world became bigger and my views wider. I began to see that Union action was not always beneficial, especially for its own members, and realised that the extreme right and extreme leftwing views all had the ring of fascism about them.

The SDP held out some hope for me and I joined their ranks when David Owen was leader. And left sharpish, when their policies became 'fudged' with the LibDem party. Since then, I have not been active in politics in any way, but view current politicians as being, in the main, people who might have charisma (ok, GB excepted), but don't have what it takes to do what is truly good for the people of this country.

One of my favourite movies is V for Vendetta, which probably says more about me than any of the above.

[thenomad]

Someone who believes that all politicians are scum, but that those from the left wing are the worst of them. They are so bad they are on par with people who actually think that advocating surrendering to the EU is not treason.

[puffin]

What made me what I am?

Life and experience.

[omnipleasant]

I'm a lefty because I reckon it's best to be nice to people, especially people who have been dealt a crappy hand in life.

Rightwingers think that some people are better than others, so fcuk 'em all, I'm allright Jack.

[flatandy]

I'm a wooly liberal centrist because I think it's best to be nice to people and give them a chance, and everything, but also that ideologues are almost all insane dangerous loons. So it's best to be pragmatic and do what works best in terms of being nice to people, and on the whole a bit of free market and a bit of state support and basically free trade although not being silly about it and some state intervention but not too much to really screw markets up and some proper regulation and stuff is, really, just the sensible way of doing things.

[peakman]

My alter ego tells me he was born in 1936, Although I notice his "Best before" is Feb. '79. He reckons to have done most things in life twice, usually wrong so I am told, he certainly is an expert on how not to do things. However, he got lucky and now finds himself living, in, or at least on the edge of, Derbyshire's Peak District. So all's well that ends well. His words, not mine.

[bella]

i am the product of what i am not only because of life & my experiences but the strong influence of my father

[vania]

It depends on the topic.

Generally speaking I find that economically I am middle of the road/just left of centre. Socially I tend to be very liberal. Mainly because I think economically there are things the state can and should do to afford equality of opportunity to everybody. That said I fully accept that some people will f**k up the chances granted to them and so be 'left behind'. I'm fine with that.

Socially I'm of the opinion that unless it directly has a negative impact on society or others what people do with their private life is their business.

Although I find myself becoming left economic lefty and more socially liberal as I get older which is strange.

[pinxminx]

I'm most defo left but not too far!
Have you ever heard of the Social Constructionist theory Lala?

[feral]

I blame yord

[pinxminx]

Me too!