Originally posted on my blog: http://rayito2702-tdrh.blogspot.com/2008/10/personal-political-manifesto.html
Below are some rambling thoughts on my personal political views.
I think that insomuch as humans interact, government in necessary and can't help but exist. There will always be formal and informal rules that govern human interaction.
Government is a reflection of the people it governs and is, in fact, made up of people that it governs. Bad constituency is the primary motivating factor that leads to bad government. Likewise, independence and ethics grounded in the individual leads to an ideal government.
Less important are political philosophical movements. Democrats and Repubicans, Communists and Libertarians all claim their system is the bomb. And they are basically all correct. Political philosophy is less important than individual commitment on a society-wide basis to upholding societal laws. If such a commitment exists, anything will "work".
It is merely a question of what kind of society is desired by the people.
Here are some elements of government desired by this person.
First and foremost I look for fiscal responsiblity and transperancy. I don't think it's necessary for the government to ever go in to debt. Defecit spending and inability to stick to a budget is evidence that the people we have elected do not know what they are doing. If we can't trust our representatives to handle money we can't trust them to do anything else.
If congress wants to authorize going to war, for example, then it should increase government income to pay for that war by either re-allocating existing funds or by increasing taxes and other sources of governmental income. If the American people don't want to reallocate funds or pay more taxes then it is a safe bet that the American people do not really want to fight.
I am much less concerned about the amount of taxes I pay than I am about the respect with which the money I donate to the government is treated. But an irresponsible government is a government I don't want to give money to.
Simply balacing the budget will, in my opinion, fix most of the percieved inadequacies in government.
Government is fundamentally a part of all human interaction. It is, by defintion, the rules that govern human interaction. My greatest investment, the government's greatest investment and the world's greatest investment in the future is our children. No other investment comes close. A society that is conducive to empowering future generations is fundamental to our progress.
Embracing infantacide in the form of legalizing abortion of convinience is the first and foremost of child-hating policies that goverment should discard.
Endorsing standard marriage institutions over non-standard ones is also important.
I am a huge fan of environmental and resource conservation. Environmental issues pervade society and in many ways are larger than communities, states and even nations. Thus, it is appropriate to deal with these issues at the highest levels of government.
Issues of government should be handled at the lowest possible level.
As Abraham Lincoln said, government is "of the people, by the people and for the people". People resolve issues, not governments. We are all responsible for the state of the country we live in.
I don't buy in to any political parties. I'm politically independent. I vote for canditates on issues and ignore their party affiliations as much as possible. However a tendency for a canditate to mindlessly vote a party line is a sure turn off.
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5 comments:
I agree with many points you make. Won't commit to all of them, though.
I found it enlightening when I learned that in business, "debt" is called "leverage". The idea of doing more with less actual money. I see it as a risk-taking vs. risk-averse mindset. Though, I guess with governments, they can play with the system enough that the rules might be different. But presuming there's an analogy to personal or business debt, taking risks can pay off, but it doesn't make you strong or resistant to failure. Same issue with specialization. Some is needed, full out is most efficient, but too much specialization leaves vulnerabilities to changing circumstances.
All that said, in general I agree with avoiding deficit spending.
I disagree with most all of your views. :P
Government, at the very heart of it, is violence. While you will never get rid of violence in society, centralizing it in the hands of a powerful state is only asking for trouble.
You should read the following, free online: Human Action, by Ludwig von Mises
or
The Ethics of Liberty, by Murray N. Rothbard (one of my personal favorite books)
Thanks for the links Daryl. I've been reading generally about libertarianism including skimming some of the books you had linked on your Myspace.com page.
I'm a big fan of the way it expects individuals to take responsibility for their actions.
From what I have read (and what we've discussed) I disagree with some of the fundamental assumptions the ideology is based on and it seems a bit more theoretical than practical.
When I read up on it some more I'll post a list of concerns and issues I have with it. At that time you can tell me how wrong I have it. :)
cool ray, I would definitely be interested in hearing what you think about rothbard's book. I actually haven't read von Mises book, just skimmed parts of it and looked over their study guide. it's a classic in economics though, and murray rothbard was a student of his.
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