Welcome to Gaia! ::

I am curious to see where other Jews stand when it comes to politics. I myself intend to major in International Political Science after High School, so inevitably politics is probably my favorite thing to talk about.

Discuss:
How do you think things should be run? Why?
Inquiring about other Schools of Political thought.

Awwww, Neuf, don't be a Paulite! gonk

I'z be a semi-socialist thingie. Think the gov't should provide the essentials (for me, this includes food, shelter, healthcare, and education) and let the markets handle the rest. I like diplomacy, a lot. Think we should be doing more of it.

There’s lots more, and maybe someday I’ll have the time to write it all down in detail, then you can all buy my book. =P biggrin

Wow- I think we're going to get completely different opinions here....

I consider myself a moderate who can't really be defined by one particular philosophy. I tend to be a social liberal but economic conservative.

I do not think the government should include certain things as essentials. (Certainly the obvious roads and whatnot paid for by taxes), but I disagree with universal health care. I have nothing against the poor and don't feel it's right to ignore their hardships, but I feel the emphasis should be on giving these people jobs that can help them afford food, shelter, etc rather than social welfare programs. I'm rather cynical, but I feel any program large enough to give all Americans a bunch of benefits like healthcare would be enormously corrupt and inefficient. I'm not obsessed with the market, but sometimes it can help competition, as in this case. I am very much against many government handouts

As I possibly want to go into medicine and because my dad is a doctor, healthcare is pretty important to me. I think it's ridiculous that because he works 50-60+ hours per week, he has to give a huge chunk of his income to malpractice tax in order not to get sued (even if every case he reads is flawless his entire life.) I feel that, especially in America, the salaries of doctors would drop incredibly, it would take forever to get even the worst healthcare, and it would be one of the worst mistakes America would make to nationalize healthcare, as many people are obsessed with going to the doctor for stupid things that don't need anything.

I'm totally with Neuf on this incredible sense of entitlement that people have. I'm NOT saying if you're poor that means you don't work (the economy certainly hurts everybody), but far too many people feel they should be given everything when they don't do anything.

I'm for many social liberal things, though. For gay marriage, incredibly for researching alternative fuel/energy, pro-choice (though I feel women should have chosen by the third trimester at least. Except in rare cases, it'd be their own fault if they haven't had an abortion by then), and definitely free religion. We do not live in Jesusland, nor should the Supreme Court ever cite the bible in a court case.

As for diplomacy, I feel we really should increase relations with some other countries, though I don't agree with the US decision to go to war. But, now that we're there, it's going to be hard to get out and I don't have the knowledge to know the best way to go out while causing the least trouble.

There's much more I'm forgetting. xp

eek 3 degrees? I'm impressed! What in?

Hawkins is a great example Neuf.

People do take advantage of our current welfare system, and it is only going to get worse if we have national healthcare. I just see more lazy bums out there, not earning anything. Not only that, but this national healthcare is going to come from our taxes. You'll still pay for it, and chances are, taxes are going to get so high that the middle class is going to have a hard time, but they are not entitled to welfare. Then you tax the rich for all their worth. Chances are, those guys are going to get pissed and begin tax evading. The rich guys pay people's paychecks as well. All the social classes will be reduced to one, central class. What does that sound like? Ooh, Communism! But without guns, and we get invaded! Even worse than Communism!

I like guns too. Guns protect you and this country, along with bombs and fighter planes, tanks, the list goes on and on...you can't cut the military. I like them protecting us, and we shouldn't back out now, because chances are, ten years later we are going to be back again. People should also be allowed to own guns with a permit, and we don't need anymore restrictions on them. I don't want to own a gun personally, but I understand the people who want to own a gun. I'm all for their rights.

Gay rights might also be nice too. That seems right to me.

It is great to see people who have opinions on politics, and not just a popular or issue based mind.

I am a Non-Violent Libertarian Socialist with Anarchy-Without-Adjectives operating under a Consensual Democracy as the end product., I wanted to avoid saying this in the OP because I wanted to see what everyone else is without my views affecting how they constructed their responce.

As a Libertarian Socialist I believe in the dismantling all institutions that have a hierarchy. Including the economy, the government, anything, the community will operate under it's on consensual terms.

XD, only in America is Libertarian a far right wing group, in Europe Libertarian Socialist is considered Redundant. And Pretty much, Tear down all institutions and have people live in consentual communities, they would say how they want things ran and then work to a conclusion about how things would run, giving a set way things would be ran though would be contradictory to my politcal ideals since Anarchism is subject to change as the community developes.

Though I must say the community I would want to live in is one where people can contribute to the community if they want, but they don't have to but they won't get things from the community since they choose not to contribute.