An in-depth study of my political compass

There are many ways to describe my political beliefs. One may think that being such a politically-minded person, my views would be easy to state. I suppose the opposite is true, the more involved in politics one is, the more complicated his or her opinion on world events becomes. I can no longer reference a single political ideology when talking about my beliefs. I consider myself an economic Socialist, and a social progressive, yet hold no allegiance to the SPUSA, nor the SWP. Let's analyze where I stand.

My social stance isn't all that hard to understand, like most other progressives, I believe in equal rights for every man, as well as strong social development programs. In terms of economics, I advocate for a strong centralized system of state enterprise for primary goods. Rephrased: I believe the government should control the means to produce and sell certain products deemed necessary for the common good. This would remove the profit incentive from human needs. For example, in certain countries in Africa, foreign private companies own the only readily available supply of water. If one wants water, they must insert money into the local pump. I believe most Americans on both the right and left would agree this is wrong. Although maybe not as harmful, here in America, certain industry needed for the good of the country should be nationalized. This would include the ever-failing auto industry, and of course, health care, if that could be called an industry. Foreign produced goods should be heavily taxed, and large tariffs should be installed to ensure production stays inside the country. Besides the auto industry, there are many more institutions in the country that should be brought under governmental control, such as lumber production, and oil drilling. These can be discussed at another time. Many would claim that the profit incentive helps foster new ideas, and streamline business, I don't disagree, however when the profit incentive is introduced into the production of goods essential for human well being, the only new ideas fostered are more ways to extract money from an impoverished population.

Many critics would call these ideas tyrannical and overbearing, they live in a fantasy world. The American "Right" today believes in a country of independent contractors. To them, every man is in charge of gathering the items he needs for survival, and may charge any fee for the things he produces, since they are, inherently, his. This "survival of the fittest" concept breeds not only a fearful civilization, but one unable to be bothered with the concern of his brother. It incorrectly presumes that each idea, or good, is the product of only one mind, and runs contrary to the communal ideas of man that have ensured human survival since the Neolithic Revolution.

I consider myself a proud Socialist, and I will continue to fight for decisions I believe will improve the way this country operates.