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I would define the sides differently: globalist vs. localist, or big government vs. little government
Localist meaning people who want decisions made at the lowest (local) level possible.
Who is more nationalist: the ones saying they want a national abortion policy decided by the Supreme Court or the ones saying they want the voters in each state to decide?...the ones saying they want a national department of education or the ones saying they want the parents in the local school district to decide?... the ones who want national mandates on auto fuel economy, pipeline construction, alternative energy tax rebates, or the ones who want private individuals and businesses to make their own decisions?
The so-called nationalism of Donald Trump and the MAGAs is really not nationalism, it's localism. They are saying we are the united states of America, not we are The United States of America. They wave the flag not of one star and one stripe, but 13 stripes and 50 stars.
Yes, localism is a better way to describe it than nationalism. Everything should be done as locally as possible. Some things do have to be global, but those things should be minimized.
Hey Good4Nothin, I have to disagree with you since you are good for something.
Your post is one of the better posts I’ve seen in a while and all your points make perfect sense.
I’ve always been Center, but leaned slightly to the Right. I still believe in several Left leaning causes, but now, I classify myself as a MAGA. Also, I’m mixed Black and White, with a pinch of Jewish blood and my kids are also mixed with Hispanic and Asian AND I am a proud Catholic, so I would make one hell of a “pizz” poor White Nationalist, Nazi or KKK idiot.
Btw, I’m pretty sure that Biden or whoever is really in charge doesn’t know that by trying to demonize MAGAs, it only confirms they are right and strengthens one’s commitment to the principles of MAGA. Also, when “Der Fuehrer” was giving his Nuremberg speech, all it did was push millions of Americans into the MAGA camp.
Thanks.
Yes, when I see Biden and the Democrats demonizing Trump and the MAGAs, it makes me sympathize with Trump and the MAGAs. It has the opposite of the intended effect. I do not like demonization, in general.
But I can't be a whole-hearted MAGA, since I agree with some liberal ideals. I just hate seeing wokeness taken to stupid extremes.
It is encouraging, to me, when I see non-whites like yourself feeling alienated from the "left." I think some of the black conservatives, Like Glenn Lowry for example, are intelligent and interesting.
I think you have a dilemma if you trying to think about this in black/white discrete terms, you are not wrong insofar that a global civilization requires global coordination, our economic systems made it so that we are globalized. Our problem is that every civilization we ever had as humans have collapsed, it just didnt affect the whole world. New problems new solutions, clearly most people understand the dystopic nature of a world gov, it would have to be like something we never had before, people are trying out new forms of direct digital goverment that allows to be decentralized but still gives you the overarching coordination, public-private partnerships, we have to figure out new economic systems that address our current landscape, need to this without resorting to utopianism or holding on to old solutions.
I do NOT think progressives, in general, ever think about the dangers of globalism.
There have to be rules, someone has to make the rules, someone has to enforce them. The whole idea of anarchy is nonsensical.
Do you have to be forced at gunpoint to follow rules? Do you have to be threatened with violence in order to follow rules? Or is it possible that you, like almost everyone else, follows rules based simply on voluntary cooperation, pragmatism and common sense?
Also, anarchy is not the absence of rules. Rather, it is the absence of involuntary RULERS. You think to have the former you must have the latter but I ask again - do you have to be violently coerced to follow the normal rules of polite society, or do you just do it because it seems the easiest and best way to navigate the public sphere?
We are used to thinking in terms of "left" versus "right," or progressive/liberal versus conservative/libertarian. Those are the old labels.
I believe the political spectrum has evolved, and most people don't realize it. They are using the old terminology, and the result it our political discourse is in chaos.
It seems to me the current opposition now is between globalism/technocracy and populism/nationalism.
The MAGAs, of course, are the populists/nationalists. They are accused of racism and white supremacy, but actually a lot of them voted for Obama. And a lot would have voted for Sanders.
The globalists/technocrats have swallowed up the old political "left." That is why we see huge global corporations spouting wokeness.
The globalists/technocrats have most of the financial and political power, and control social media, higher education, most mainstream news. But the populists/nationalists are numerous.
Nothing "new" about our political spectrum.
It is, and always has been, one groups that wants govt to do more and more to "help" you (and send you the bills and commands later).... vs. another group who wants govt to do less.
Things like "Technocracy" and "populism" and etc. etc. are just side effects of the central conflict that I mention here.
I could debate freedom vs control, or order vs chaos, all day long. It takes a good balance to sustain an empire, and keep our nature in check.
I really don't know what the solution is, but it's not either political party, nor is it the world bank and the governing elites and billionaires like Gates who think they have some grand vision for the planet and our species.
In the end the spectrum is really more like a compass, and this political compass test has been around for some time. I tend to score the same every time despite giving some different answers this time around, so who knows how accurate the test is.
Another test... these tests tend to be left biased I noticed, so even moderates get classified as "right wing" .. I'm pro choice, support gay marriage, but it's 78% republican. Go figure. Looks like my extreme "meritocracy" score got me. The left apparently don't believe in rule by the most qualified people, and yet they trust "experts" to make all their decisions for them. Go figure. I have no idea how it calculated that score, but it's probably accurate. I would definitely, more than anything, describe myself as supporting meritocracy. This below test correctly shows the democrats as the new PC police and the republicans being anti-PC (politically correct).. I also got a high score for "unilateralism"
I've always said here that checks and balances against our nature is the most important. Prevent concentration of wealth, concentration of power into too few hands, while maintain a good work ethic and not massively overspending and causing massive inflation like we have post 2008 in the US with the QE that is now 1/3 of our national debt. In practice this will never happen. Humans won't place sufficient checks on their nature. Greed will take over, and empires will rise and fall in a predictable fashion in which the US is now in the decline phase. In practice a periodic reset where a nation goes bankrupt and debts are consolidated may be a necessary part of the system. Most everything in the universe goes in cycles, right down to waveforms and energy itself. It takes tremendous effort to keep something constant and resist the forces of entropy. In the end it may simply not be possible. This universe is chaotic by nature.
Those compass tests don't have anything about globalism versus nationalism. They assume the old categories of left and right have validity.
And no, the universe is NOT chaotic by nature. The universe balances chaos and order, and the result is creativity.
I see the left as the overly-educated stupid people.”
There is nothing intelligent or of common sense to their ideology and policies…..
Education and common sense are two very different things. Our education system teaches students that common sense is stupid and naive. After all, common sense tells us life could not evolve by blind chance. And we KNOW that smart scientists have proven that it can.
If you cant define it at all, then how can you label a person any of those terms ????
I SAID it's hard to define them PRECISELY. Read more carefully.
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