The Quiz is getting an update! Your input for the next edition would be greatly appreciated. Discuss what you think should be included in the quiz on the blog.
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Your views call for roughly same amount of goverment and liberty that we have today, with a bit more personal liberty but more government involvement in the economy.
A common sense pragmatist third political party. What a concept! At least, that is what the Modern Whig Party claims to be. Looking at their web site their views seem to range from centrist to moderate left-libertarian.
A new party. Whether it gets off the ground remains to be seen.
The American Solidarity Party is a Christian Democratic party which is pro life across the board. They call for generous welfare benefits funded by ground rents, and for backing off of some of the more punitive aspects of our justice system. But unlike most left wing parties, they would make abortion illegal and support religious freedom even outside church buildings.
Not happy with the existing parties? Would you like to see a political party that was concerned about freedom and equality? Would you like to shrink big government and big corporations?
I am contemplating starting such a party. This is not a trivial undertaking! However in my manual on how to start a new political party I seriously address the challenges inherent in third party politics in the United States. Third parties generally fail, because the system is rigged against third parties. However, there are a couple of interesting loopholes...
Regardless of your core political values, this list of books on law, economics, politics, and social problems should add useful items to your mental toolset.
Click on an image to go to the Amazon order page. Note that the latest versions of these works may differ in cover from the images, as many of the images are pics of my personal copies.
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This is a short list. I have more recommendations on economics, law and political philosophy, and mass domination for those who are interested. (The linked pages include reviews of my recommended readings.)
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From your answers it appears you believe that government should be significantly involved in the economy. If you believe in this because you desire more economic equality, then you might find these articles to be of interest. | |
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The Balance of Wealth> takes an in depth look at the factors which lead to a lopsided distribution of wealth between the rich and poor. Yes, some people get rich because they earned it through work, cleverness and/or luck. However, many of the rich are being paid for the fact that they are rich, and in many hidden respects the government is subsidizing this process! |
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Some people consider corporate power to be more dangerous than government power. After all, in theory we all have an equal share of the government, via our right to vote. Shrinking the Corporations looks at ways to shrink the size and power of the big corporations while still retaining the benefits of a capitalist economy. |
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If you are a Christian as well as a liberal, check out God's Welfare System. This article shows how the poor were supposed to be taken care of during Old Testament times. There are some ideas there that are useful to this day. And you get to have fun with Republican members of the Religious Right when you can point out how the Law of Moses calls for an extensive welfare system while at the same time calling for no money for the police or the military.
Just what is the optimal type of government? If government should be big, what should it do and who should run it? If government should be small or nonexistent, what should take its place? Should we embrace The Singularity or should we retreat back to Ecotopia? Is democracy optimal, or should we go back to monarchy? Maybe we should just let the mafia run things...
Sometimes the best way to explore these questions is to run a mental simulation through fiction. And so writers have promoted their ideas in utopian fiction and blasted ideas they disliked in dystopian fiction.
Here is an eclectic list of some of my favorites. You will find dystopias with runaway government which makes you long for liberty, and runaway corporations which make you long for more government. There are hippytopias and conservative Christian utopias. There are stealth utopian works disguised as comedies and even a crime novel. And there are few which are ambiguous as to whether they are utopian or dystopian works.
Not included here are the usual suspects. For the most part I have also omitted overly preachy works; I made a very few exceptions because the utopias described were just so different as to make the works interesting on that count. The rest stand on the merits of their interesting plots. Enjoy.
This is the short list. For more, with reviews, see:
