If we’re using a linear spectrum of left to right, how far left am I? I would consider myself on the left end of politics and was thinking of joining the Green Party in the U.S.

Here are some of the things I believe in:

Homeless people should get free housing. If I were in charge, they would live in shelters or big buildings like hotels.

Rights for all!

We should make countries better for all and not just go along with whatever the politician says, specifically where I live in the United States. Real patriotism is trying to make a better, for example, United States for everyone and not just going along with whatever our President says and defending his corrupt ideas.

Climate change is a real issue that needs to be taken care of.

LGBTQ+ people deserve representation completely and everyone should be free of discrimination.

Immigration is what shapes the United States (I use a lot of American examples because that’s where I live, sorry!) and they should not be tortured, deported, discriminated against, anything. It should be a free country and the borders should be less strict.

Weapons should be banned and crime should somehow become a very rare thing to deal with.

  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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    11 hours ago

    Contrary to how we use the terms in common dialogue, and as shorthand (I am guilty of this as well), treating ideology as a spectrum leads to problematic understandings of ideology. Everything you just said, I agree with (generally, at least, I’m against patriotism and nationalism in imperialist countries like the US, as well as myself generally being for armed revolution), but I also believe that we should transition economically to socialism, ie an economy where public ownership is the principle aspect of the economy, not private. A social democrat may also agree with everything you said, but they would answer the opposite, ie that private ownership should be principle. I would be considered “far-left” while the social democrat would be “center-right,” but both of us can agree with you 100% on what you’ve listed.

    I’m a Marxist-Leninist, I agree with Marx’s analysis of capitalism and advancements on scientific socialism and dialectical and historical materialism, as well as with Lenin’s advancements on analyzing how capitalism turns to imperialism over time, and on organizational structure and practice. If you want, I wrote an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list, that might help you learn some more about what I am talking about.

    Essentially, though, you’re progressive socially, but where you stand economically is pretty unknown, so we can’t really tell where you “fit in,” and even then terms like left vs right are complicated beyond being for socialism vs capitalism. Trying to compare, say, an anarchist and an ML on how “left” we are is silly, in my opinion, it isn’t a contest nor is that an accurate way to compare ideologies. Same with comparing capitalist ideologies.

    • comfy@lemmy.ml
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      3 hours ago

      I think another important point to add is, I assume that your pro-socialism economic position is not independent of all those social positions. For an example, our economic structure affects whether we can fight climate change, or whether wealthy industries (including oil, mining, dairy) can maintain disproportionate political power and continue driving politics.