Why are you talking about politics like you'd talk about black metal lulz. The biggest problem IN politics right now is we don't have enough Libertarians in any position that actually matters. Hyper-polarization is why nothing gets done (since everybody hates each other), combined with both the Democrats and Republicans insatiable greed for money. We need a good third party to go mainstream in order to fight problems like this.

Maybe you'll eventually figure it out when you've lived a little longer, but the more time you spend dealing with government (which I have), the more conservative you become. I was far left in high school through college. Once I got out into the real world and actually started running into government through my business, I became convinced (if nothing else) that they're far more incompetent than you could ever dream of. I have absolutely no faith at this point that the government will ever be able to efficiently create the kind of overarching social safety net the left would like to see while still affording Americans the autonomy that the right would like to see. Conservatives understand this, which is why they want the federal government to take a lesser role in the first place.

Social issues I'm still more left than right, since at the end of the day the government does need to take a prominent role of some kind in providing for the people. Whether or not those ideals actually WORK in reality, however, is the million dollar question. Europe, after all, still has it's fair share of problems and they're supposedly lightyears ahead of us when it comes to welfare.

The one thing I can tell you for sure is Communism will never work. Ever. :p:

This is hands down my least favourite cliche ftr.

You're gonna give yourself carpal tunnel if you keep patting yourself on the back like that man.

Hey, all I can do is speak from experience. If you want to be condescending, try stepping into my shoes for a day or two. :thumb:

I'm condescending and open minded how about that

Or, you know, you could try a counter argument. Or something with substance. Maybe I'm asking a bit much? :D

Polarization gets nothing done and centrists by definition want to keep things the same. What good is a third party if it only wants to continue with what's already being done?

To what, the cliche? My counter argument is the loads of people who deal with the government who think that logical liberal solutions still work.

This may not pertain to you, but I think that a lot of construct a bogeyman view of the government because they only associate with the government when they're forced to, and nobody likes that. Some people only see the negative parts that affect their lives and take a lot of the positive things for granted. Food for thought.

The older I get the more I hate capitalism and America's disgusting bull**** oligarchy.

It's hilarious when people speak as if their experience is the universal human experience. Funny thing, I've grown more left wing as I've gotten older. I was always skeptical of government, but it took working in the corporate world for me to understand that corporations—contrary to the fantasy often peddled in the US—are generally disorganized, bureaucratic garbage dumps, where the people in charge are rarely the best and brightest and are far more often the best schmoozers or the biggest assholes. I also grew to understand that the prevailing corporate philosophy of perpetual growth is not only unsustainable but is actually a huge problem because it compels companies screw over workers, screw over any other people who get in their way, and degrade the environment. I've come to realize that government is one of the only even remotely effective levers we have against corporate misbehavior. Beyond that, just from living in the "real world", I've come to understand that the American right wing's supposed support of individual rights is bullshit.