Convince me to take up Leftism
Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:24 pm
Convince me to start voting left again. Im 25, single and I need a way to expedite my time on Earth.
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https://www.webdiplomacy.net/contrib/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=693
Justice should be blind, and rules ought to apply equally to everyone.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:14 amWhat would you describe as your main values or political ends, Croak?
I agree with this. I think the British justice system is already better in this regard than many others, though not perfect. In particular, on the civil side, we have issues with equal access to justice.CroakandDagger wrote: Justice should be blind, and rules ought to apply equally to everyone.
I may not entirely agree with this. Let's take it to the extremes - should a person be free to say "let's round up the blacks and the jews, and kill them all in the most painful way possible"..? Should this kind of speech be protected? And does "speech" extend to publication? Should a wealthy person be able to print millions of leaflets saying "we should kill the Muslims" and pay for them to be posted through every letterbox in the country? Is that freedom of expression desirable?CroakandDagger wrote: People should be free to speak their mind on any subject without fear.
In a properly functioning democracy, if it does not, the general idea is that the citizenry should be able to replace the Government. I must say it is my view that in the UK we do not have a properly functioning democracy at the present time.CroakandDagger wrote: Citizens of a Nation should be able to count on their Government to serve their interests.
I quite agree.CroakandDagger wrote: The lobbying of supernational megacorporations should have no impact on policy.
At the very least, yes.CroakandDagger wrote: The rich should pay the same amount of tax as the poor, at the very least.
Let's discuss this. Economic policy is very interesting to me. What exactly do you mean in this case? Are you talking about the impact of unreasonable tarrifs?CroakandDagger wrote: National industry should not be gutted simply to appease an authoritarian neighbour.
I suspect I am more of a pragmatic realist than you are, but then that's what I would say, isn't it?Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmWell this is interesting, because despite our enormous differences, I agree with some of these principles. Where we differ hugely is probably the means. Let's see if I can use the quote function to tease these out.
We do indeed - but I suspect you do not mean the same thing by "access to justice" that I would. I don't want to make assumptions about precisely what you are using that as a euphemism for - and would be interested to hear it - but what I would mean by this would be that disadvantaged folks (predominantly the native white working class, but also the lower middle/middle classes) do not have good access to the justice system ever since Britain's small claims courts were sidelined into near irrelevance. It is my understanding that what may have cropped up in a small claims court once upon a time is now either getting thrown out as inconsequential, ignored altogether, or being addressed only on exploitative daytime television.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmI agree [That justice should be blind]. I think the British justice system is already better in this regard than many others, though not perfect. In particular, on the civil side, we have issues with equal access to justice.
In my opinion, yes. Hate Speech laws are toxic to the national discourse. If people are saying that we ought to round up and kill massive groups of people, in my opinion they are either joking - or there are serious problems deep in society that require urgent attention. In either case that speech should not be prevented.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmI may not entirely agree [That people should be free to speak their mind on any subject without fear]. Let's take it to the extremes - should a person be free to say "let's round up the blacks and the jews, and kill them all in the most painful way possible"..? Should this kind of speech be protected? And does "speech" extend to publication? Should a wealthy person be able to print millions of leaflets saying "we should kill the Muslims" and pay for them to be posted through every letterbox in the country? Is that freedom of expression desirable?
For a Democracy to function ideally, its people must be well-educated, well-informed and politically engaged. So yes, I would agree that Britain's democracy does not currently function ideally.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmIn a properly functioning democracy, if [A Government does not serve its people's interests], the general idea is that the citizenry should be able to replace the Government. I must say it is my view that in the UK we do not have a properly functioning democracy at the present time.
So we agree. Pretty boring really. But to expand a little on this, the more monopolistic and protectionist national policy allows corporations to be, the more society and business stagnates - with power and wealth accumulating to a new aristocracy.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmI quite agree [That the lobbying of supernational megacorporations should have no impact on policy].
I don't miss the emphasis. In my mind, one of the biggest problems facing our society is the very theoretical existence of a corporation.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmAt the very least, [The rich should pay the same amount of tax as the poor].
In this particular case, I was talking about the ruin visited upon our fishing industry - and by proxy our coastal towns - by the EU's abysmal Common Fisheries Policy.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:36 pmLet's discuss this. Economic policy is very interesting to me. What exactly do you mean in this case? Are you talking about the impact of unreasonable tarrifs?CroakandDagger wrote: National industry should not be gutted simply to appease an authoritarian neighbour.
Indeed. Small businesses are some of the hardest hit by legal and bureaucratic red tape - because unlike their larger competitors, they cannot afford the administrative staff to deal with the work - or the inflated fees of our litigious priesthood.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 amAccess to justice... also impacts small businesses, as well as poorer individuals
What you overlook in your assessment is the gross expansion of Hate Crime legislation. Where a BAME individual can accuse someone of "causing offence" and receive support from the government to prosecute their "attacker" as a hate criminal even when nothing remotely offensive was said, native Britons have no such option. They are abandoned by our masters.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 amWhere I disagree with you is your suggestion that this somehow affects white people more than others - I think this affects the "little guy" - poorer people and smaller firms - whatever their colour or creed.
It must be nice living a comfortable life far from the areas affected the most by Islamic gang violence and the targeted grooming of British children.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 amThis is not a race issue. There are thousands of white rapists in the UK as well. From what statistics we have, the majority of rapes are committed by partners, ex-partners, or family members - rather than muslim bogeymen. I am not saying that there are not cases (very alarming cases) of gangs of non-white men grooming and raping young girls. Clearly this has been happening and the police and other authorities have not done enough to respond. But they are terrible at responding to *all* cases of rape. That is the crisis. Race is not the main factor.
America's situation is different to ours. America has the ability to be a major industrial powerhouse but has been outsourcing much of its labour to child sweatshops across the pacific simply because it's cheaper.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 am- Again I fundamentally agree. On this point, do you therefore agree that Trump's protectionism and propping up of monolithic US corporations will, in the long run, be bad for ordinary people in the US and in markets that trade with the US?
I voted "leave" and I think that in the short term you are right - but temporary discomfort does not justify remaining with an abusive partner.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 amI voted "remain" and I think the UK will be harmed by leaving the EU.
Only if May's cabinet of traitors provides us with a diluted Brexit that does no good for anybody - which seems quite likely thanks to the incessant bad-faith campaigning of the remoaners to undermine our government's negotiating position.Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:34 am[The CFP] will continue to operate whether we leave the EU or not.