WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOU: LIBERTARIAN, RIGHT, CENTRIST, LIBERAL (LEFT) or STATIST?

Question

LIBERTARIANS: Support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.
Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

RIGHT (CONSERVATIVES) -Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates "traditional values." They oppose excessive government control of business, while endorsing government action to defend morality and the traditional family structure. Conservatives usually support a strong military, oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market economy, and endorse strong law enforcement. 

CENTRISTS espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

LIBERALS (THE LEFT) usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net" to help 
the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

STATISTS (Big Government): Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in today's world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties. 

B.A. GOES TO WHO CAN BEST JUSTIFY THEIR POLITICAL LEANINGS.

"Man is by nature a political animal." --Aristotle

? · Accepted Answer

Definitions do not line-up with contemporary usage.
LIBERTARIANS: Good call.
RIGHT (CONSERVATIVES): Not so much. "Frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior" is just not true unless one uses a very novel definition of "frequently." You are unaware of a way your day has ever been balked by "right-wing" law. Libertarian and right are virtually the same thing.
CENTRISTS: Have no coherent ideology whatsoever. To be a centrist is to believe in the middle ground between true and false, which is of course actually false.
LIBERALS (THE LEFT): Almost NEVER embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, civil liberties or free expression. The core of their entire movement is to centralize CONTROL over all of these things. You cannot get through your morning wake-up and poop before running against liberals' CONTROLS.
STATISTS (Big Government): Perfectly ordinary liberals.

My ideology is libertarian/right. Man invented government because alone as an individual he could not secure his life, liberty and property. Any government that will do this MUST itself obey the law so I "require" the Feds/States to obey The Constitution. All polities come down to one question: "Are you your own property?" The rest is details. Libertarian/right derives policy positions from the assumption that you own yourself; statist/left from the assumption you are government property.

Anonymous · Answer

Libertarian

iCollege · Answer

Libertarian/Liberal.

Anonymous · Answer

I am about 2/3 Libertarian and 1/3 Republican.  Few people fit the parties even close to 100%.  Typically it is even harder to find a candidate between 2 or 3 available to fit anything close to a voter's beliefs when voting for actual candidates in a specific office.  It often comes down to a choice similar to the election results-"I'm 49% in favor of this one and 51% in favor of that one".  Of course many times the voter is actually over 50% in favor of neither.  Libertarians have proposed that "none of the above" be placed on ballots and that certain offices remain unfilled without a certain percent voting other than "none of the above".

Anonymous · Answer

None of the above.

Neo-Isolationist.  

Armed neutrality
High import tariffs
Sealed borders
Rational immigration
Out of NATO
Expel the UN
Law and Order
Expanded Space Program
Sanctity of the individual
Limited Government
Free Enterprize
Capitalist

Anonymous · Answer

Right Handed

Comrade Otto · Answer

i'm a socialist who dislikes government. My view is socialism is worker run democracy where people make decisions for themselves in their workplaces. Co-op factories etc. Communities governing their own communities. You'll call me a statist but I don't care. Government is undemocratic. People should be running their day to day lives through a collective society.

Anonymous · Answer

Rationally Idealistic Anarchist and Professional Oxymoron

Government is a gun to your head · Answer

I believe that all of the above are statists.  The government is an organism that always grows in size from inception to revolution, so it doesnt matter what stage you prefer.  I believe in a voluntary, contractual government that isnt supported by violence.

? · Answer

I think liberals and statists are one and the same.

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WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOU: LIBERTARIAN, RIGHT, CENTRIST, LIBERAL (LEFT) or STATIST?

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