Related source » Clarity
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“[T]he rumble over the Greek economic crisis continues. At village level, […] , the general idea that Merkel is the new Hitler (and the glee at the fact that the Germans poisoned themselves with their own bean sprouts, rather than with something grown by one of those recalcitrant Mediterranean types, is palpable), some pretty crude racism, whilst on the news, protesters chant about the politicians being thieves. All have one thing in common, the sense that the cause of the crisis is a moral, rather than a systemic failure. One of Adam Smith's most notable insights was his much misread notion that the strength of a modern, industrial society does not rest on the virtue of its citizens. Instead, small petty desires and self-interest drive economies and sustain civilisation. The target of Smith's writing was the same one that seems to animate popular debate today and thus leads us away from the major questions about the failures in the Eurozone. And, even if moral failure was a key factor, any system that has to rely entirely on the prevalence of human virtue has a major design fault anyway.”
— Peter Ryley, JUNE 12, 2011 (fatmanonakeyboard.blogspot.com)
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| Nolan Chart (Image via conservapedia.com) |
While the two major American political parties, Democrat and Republican, keep slugging away at each other in the guise of their "liberal" and "conservative" principles, respectively, it is important to realize that political philosophies are greatly clarified when viewed on a Nolan Chart, which recognizes that political action can be divided into two general categories: economic and personal.
Thus, many, if not most people are better served if a distinction is made between the specific flavors of their liberal or conservative leanings. Though, as a generic "conservative" who generally favors the Republican candidates over the Democrats, I am, in fact, a conservative on the economy but more of a liberal on many personal issues. This places me center/right on the American political spectrum (where the American-electorate peaks), and squarely in the area consigned to libertarianism on the Nolan Chart.
Our most contentious political differences stem from our major disagreement on the size of the Federal government and its role in restricting our individual freedoms. Hence, right of center means less government involvement (more freedom) on both economic and personal issues (i.e., trending libertarian); left of center is the opposite (i.e., labeled populist/totalitarian on the Nolan Chart). Consequently, extreme left-wing actually supports maximum personal but minimum economic freedom, whereas extreme right-wing is the opposite, namely maximum economic but minimum personal freedom.
Neither Democrat nor Republican candidates can satisfy the philosophical needs of the broad segment of our political spectrum in the center, where most independent voters live. And this is why it behooves a voter to consider what each individual candidate brings to the table, regardless of his or her party affiliation.
Post 1,653 Neither fish nor fowl …
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