Let's brand ourselves red.

[Terrywoodenpic]

I'm a liberal, unabashedly.

I'd say the contrary views that come immediately to mind are:

1) I have no desire to outlaw guns, whereas most liberals seem to be hostile to the second amendment.

2) While I am strongly pro-choice, I do not believe that a foetus is "just a ball of cells" and I am against late-term abortions.

3) While I strongly favor equality for same-sex couples, I also am sympathetic to the religious view that marriage is a religious sacrament. Therefore, if it were up to me, we wouldn't be fighting for legalizing same-sex marriages; we'd be fighting for legalizing same-sex civil unions and removing "marriage" from the the civil arena altogether.

4) Separation of church and state does not mean separation of religion and politics. I am not hostile to religious expression within politics, which seems to give many liberals fits.

5) I'm not ashamed to say that I love my country whereas a lot of liberals seem to think that expressing love for one's own country somehow means that we're putting other countries down. I really don't think that has to be the case.

I would say the things you list fit comfortably within the liberal gamut.
Liberalism by its nature does not impose a strict formulae on anyone.
It is a philosophy rather than a list of do's and don'ts

 

[lilithu]

I would say the things you list fit comfortably within the liberal gamut.
Liberalism by its nature does not impose a strict formulae on anyone.
It is a philosophy rather than a list of do's and don'ts

I agree. Which is why I feel no need to eschew the label liberal, even when I come into conflict with people who use the same label. I embrace the underlying premises of liberalism.

Care to get Specific? Here is a comprehensive list of ideologies to choose from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_ideologies

I bolded the ideas that most resonated with me.

"Classical liberalism is a political philosophy that supports individual rights as pre-existing the state, a government that exists to protect those moral rights, ensured by a constitution that protects individual autonomy from other individuals and governmental power, private property, and a laissez-faire economic policy."


"Social liberalism is a political philosophy that emphasizes mutual collaboration through liberal institutions. Social liberalism, as a branch of liberalism, contends that society must protect liberty and opportunity for all citizens. In the process, it accepts some restrictions in economic affairs, such as anti-trust laws to combat economic oligopolies, regulatory bodies or minimum wage laws, intending to secure economic opportunities for all. It also expects legitimate governments to provide a basic level of welfare or workfare, health and education, supported by taxation, intended to enable the best use of the talents of the population, prevent revolution, or simply for the perceived public good.

Rejecting both the most extreme forms of capitalism and the revolutionary elements from the socialist school, social liberalism emphasizes what it calls "positive liberty", seeking to enhance the "positive freedoms" of the poor and disadvantaged in society.
Like all liberals, social liberals believe in individual freedom as a central objective. However, they are unique in comparison to other liberals in that they believe that lack of economic opportunity, education, health-care, and so on can be considered to be threats to their conception of liberty. Social liberals are outspoken defenders of human rights and civil liberties, and combine this with support for a mixed economy, with a state providing public services that social liberals intend to ensure that people's social rights as well as their civil liberties are upheld."

 

[spacemonkey]

I am most definately a libertarian. I believe that NO ONE should be allowed to tell other people what they can and can not do as long as what they are doing is not adversely affecting anyone else.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I am most definately a libertarian. I believe that NO ONE should be allowed to tell other people what they can and can not do as long as what they are doing is not adversely affecting anyone else.

Which brand of Libertarianism and why?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_ideologies

Libertarianism

• Agorism
• Anarcho-capitalism
• Geolibertarianism
• Left-libertarianism
• Minarchism
• Neolibertarianism
• Paleolibertarianism

 

[Ody]

I am politically in question...

I have two competing ideologies in my mind at war now,

Anarcho-Syndicalism
Versus
Social Liberalism.

I know, totally idiotic. But it is what I have narrowed it down to.

 

[Fluffy]

I am a liberal.

However, I often find myself disagreeing with my fellow liberals on matters of gay marriage, political correctness and abortion. I occasionally find myself in disagreement with atheist liberals on the worth and place of religion.

 

[Yerda]

What I couldn't reconcile is calling oneself both a socialist and an anarchist.

Anarchists are socialists because they believe the workers should own and control the means of production.

To me, anarchist means no govt control over the economy, period, allowing people to decide for themselves on a local level what is best for them. Whereas socialism for me is the belief that things operate more efficiently (and fairly) on a bigger, national scale. So how can one be both an anarchist and a socialist?

Because your ideas of anarchism and socialism are different from those of anarchists and socialists.

 

[lizskid]

I'm generally a liberal. I believe that the business of Gov't is not religion or morals, it is to lead. It is to ensure everyone has constitutional rights that are protected, not just Christians, the rich, the older Americans, the conservative or the leaders themselves, but everyone. I believe we have responsibilities we have not yet met and jobs not yet completed to strengthen the country. I believe if we have a law it should be enforced, not just shrugged off as too late to do anything about it. I believe that the standards for us peons should also apply to our leaders.

 

[c0da]

I put down centrist and the Political Compass puts me slightly right and slightly Libertarian.

On economic issues, I believe in a Capitalist system, monitored very slightly to try to prevent any serious injustices, with a welfare system for the helpless, genuinely, poor. Socially, I'm pretty laid back. I don't think prostitution, weed, abortions, same sex marriage etc. should be illegal. I believe in freedom of speech. As long as our actions aren't negatively affecting others, then it's not the governments place to say what they should or shouldn't be doing.

I don't really like applying political labels to myself. I just evaluate and think about each contemporary issue seperately before reaching an informed opinion on it.