What political philosophy do you dislike?

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DoubleFeed
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28 May 2007, 12:02 pm

Quote:

Statism (or Etatism) is a very loose and often derogatory term that is used to describe:

1. Specific instances of state intervention in personal, social or economic matters.
2. A form of government or economic system that involves significant state intervention in personal, social or economic matters.

There is no precise definition of how much state intervention represents statism. Thus, at one extreme, some anarchists consider that the mere existence of a state is enough to make a country statist, while at the other extreme it is argued that only the most rigid totalitarian systems are truly statist. Usually, however, the term "statism" is used with a negative or derogatory connotation, in reference to something that the speaker considers to be an example of too much state intervention.

The term tends to be used most often with respect to economic policies. For instance, Merriam-Webster defines statism as a "concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government." Advocates of economic liberalism typically use the term "statism" to refer to any economy that does not conform to the standard of laissez-faire capitalism. "Statism" is also used to refer to specific policies in countries that would not be identified as statist overall (for example, the state monopoly on mail delivery in the United States).

Usage in relation to other concepts

Socialism and communism are often accused by their opponents of being "statist". However, a few observations need to be made:

http://www.answers.com/topic/statism

Kosmonaut
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28 May 2007, 12:10 pm

well ive already voted, but thanks for the link.
I dont think we have them in England anyway.

DoubleFeed
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28 May 2007, 12:14 pm

Kosmonaut wrote:

well ive already voted, but thanks for the link.
I dont think we have them in England anyway.

It isn't a party, but a philosophy. Many political parties have in their platforms statist ideas.

Awesomelyglorious
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28 May 2007, 1:14 pm

Kosmonaut wrote:

i dont know what a statist is, but ive known a few statisticians, so am gonna vote for that option.

I gave a basic overview of it in my original post. Part of the point of some of the terms I used was to obscure the connection to normal terminology and thus prevent gut reactions to the philosophy's name so take that into account. I know you already voted though but this is partially a response to anyone curious on my methods.

Awesomelyglorious
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28 May 2007, 1:15 pm

DoubleFeed wrote:

It isn't a party, but a philosophy. Many political parties have in their platforms statist ideas.

Well almost all parties have statist ideas in one variant or another. Statist here just reflects the political philosophy between the wings that says that both sides have a point in their desired use of government.

Cyanide
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28 May 2007, 2:19 pm

I voted Anarchism....without any sort of government, somebody will end up seizing power anyway.

headphase
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28 May 2007, 6:46 pm

I'd say fundamentalism

Awesomelyglorious
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28 May 2007, 7:44 pm

headphase wrote:

I'd say fundamentalism

Well, ok, what would you describe it as though? 2 different philosophies could actually describe the ideas depending on what you believe about the ideas.

jimservo
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29 May 2007, 12:08 pm

I don't think I could identify the "worst" as in one of these straight ideological categories. In my opinion, anarchism simply could never work as a functional system.

Statist(ism) sounds suspiciously like Fascism, or National Socialism (without the racial components), neither of which, to me, could possibly serve an ideal for a society. It also sounds like Communism largely, although certain communists would remove the "family" element.

The difference between right-wing and left-wing appears to have the former party devoted more to conservative social issues, while being tilted towards a free market while the latter perhaps opposing those former social views, and supporting a democratic socialist platform. This would be along the lines of many of the parties of Twentieth Century Europe.

Classical liberal I think would be devoted more towards a free and open economy then the "Right Wing" party, and less on social issues.

ADDENDUM: My least liked would probably "statist" or anarchism, which in my view would just lead to an undemocratic system.

Awesomelyglorious
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29 May 2007, 1:36 pm

jimservo wrote:

Well, I would say that all of the ideas you mentioned would fit under the Statist ideological category to be honest. You even did point out a flaw in how I defined Statism as Soviet Communism would fit under such a category even though it wasn't family-centered. Given that this thread has been out for a few days though, I think I can be somewhat honest about these matters without fears of affecting voting. There is an obvious reason I would not have associated Statism with the ideas you mentioned though, and that is everyone hates those ideas even if they themselves are a category within that group. By picking an unusual term and avoiding real-world associations we see a less biased result.

Well, it is also along the lines of America as well, even though our left-wing isn't considered as strong in some issues as in other nations. Republicans ideologically favor free markets and conservative social views, Democrats do not favor free markets as much and offer some opposition to conservative social views.

That assessment on the relationship of classical liberalism to right-wing ideas is rather true. For the right-wing, the issue might be a matter of some divided interests that perhaps have some conflict.

Anubis
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29 May 2007, 2:23 pm

I dislike Classical liberalism and Anarchism equally, but I picked the extreme, Anarchism.

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Ragtime
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29 May 2007, 3:21 pm

What if I dislike political philosophy altogether?

(Come to think of it, that wouldn't be so strange for an Aspie.)

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jimservo
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29 May 2007, 3:45 pm

Awesomelyglorious wrote:

Well, I would say that all of the ideas you mentioned would fit under the Statist ideological category to be honest

Fair enough. I was just somewhat unsure about the exact meaning of categories so I was speculating rather wildly :wink:

Awesomelyglorious wrote:

You even did point out a flaw in how I defined Statism as Soviet Communism would fit under such a category even though it wasn't family-centered.

Well, to be fair, as a general matter, the Soviet Union, mostly encouraged rather traditionally views on family life and sexual views, albeit not nearly to the degree of the fascists or National Socialists.

Awesomelyglorious wrote:

By picking an unusual term and avoiding real-world associations we see a less biased result.

You probably have a point here.

Awesomelyglorious wrote:

Well, it is also along the lines of America as well, even though our left-wing isn't considered as strong in some issues as in other nations.

I agree, the American left (generally represented by the Democrats, and social left Republicans) is general several years behind the Western European left, with exceptions (such as abortion). South America's and Eastern Europe's left is somewhat more eccentric.

Awesomelyglorious wrote:

Republicans ideologically favor free markets and conservative social views, Democrats do not favor free markets as much and offer some opposition to conservative social views.

Generally yes. Both parties have realigned into more concrete blocs. It used to be the Democrats had plenty of free-traders, social conservatives, along with some "hawks," but they have mostly vanished, and some have switched parties. The Democrats are no longer abiding to it's role as the traditional party of free-trade, although there are a few exceptions (such as Charlie Rangel). The Republicans are not a monolith either on this, partially do to taking in Democratic defectors from tariff friendly districts.

Santa_Claus
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31 May 2007, 5:59 pm

Socialism and communism because I am libertarian.

Awesomelyglorious
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31 May 2007, 9:25 pm

Santa_Claus wrote:

Socialism and communism because I am libertarian.

What variants? 3 groups can lay claim to socialism and communism out of the 5 mentioned and thus you must pick which variant of socialism and/or communism you like least.

Raylynn
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01 Jun 2007, 10:33 am

I dislike anarchist as they are deluded and out of touch with reality...which is rather redundant, but oh well.

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