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Political Labels

Which best describes your political beliefs?

  • Anarchist

    Votes: 3 4.5%
  • Christian Democrat

    Votes: 3 4.5%
  • Communist

    Votes: 4 6.0%
  • Conservative

    Votes: 12 17.9%
  • Democratic Socialist

    Votes: 13 19.4%
  • Environmentalist

    Votes: 7 10.4%
  • Fascist

    Votes: 2 3.0%
  • Islamist

    Votes: 6 9.0%
  • Liberal

    Votes: 13 19.4%
  • Libertarian

    Votes: 6 9.0%
  • National Socialist

    Votes: 2 3.0%
  • Nationalist

    Votes: 1 1.5%
  • Social Democrat

    Votes: 10 14.9%
  • Socialist

    Votes: 13 19.4%
  • None of the Above/ Other

    Votes: 4 6.0%
  • Hey, don't label me man!

    Votes: 8 11.9%

  • Total voters
    67
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Gutfright

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Many people are reluctant to pigeonhole themselves with a political label, which is a perfectly understandable position to take. The purpose of this thread is to find out what political ideologies other people hold, without necessarily debating the merits of individual politicians or parties.

I'd describe myself as a Libertarian Socialist. I believe the government should largely leave the individual alone, but that it should tax the ever-loving fcuk out of corporations, large businesses and the super-rich. I also think that the government should defend workers rights, pay and conditions very aggressively.

It would be interesting to see what other people think.
 
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backontrack

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I'm a Socialist, like you, but with a more political ideology. Ordinary people should have lots of rights, and we should give more money to the poor. We should tax the wealthy, businesses and corporations, and reduce bankers' bonuses a lot. We need more jobs and industries (such as renewables) and we generally need more rights and money for the working man. We need more homes, too.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
This is going to end badly.

If we're mature, then it shouldn't. Let's keep going until the usual subjects drag it off topic and then insult you when you claim it is.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oh, and, by the way, you forgot one label in the poll.

If I came from a particular town south-east of Glasgow, then could I be classed as a 'Lanarchist'? :lol:

I'll get my coat...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Who's the Islamist?
 
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Gutfright

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Oh, and, by the way, you forgot one label in the poll.

If I came from a particular town south-east of Glasgow, then could I be classed as a 'Lanarchist'? :lol:

I'll get my coat...

I'm sure I've missed out many labels, and I can only apologise in advance to people who don't feel represented by the options given. It's all I could think of at the time.

However, it's a multiple choice poll, so you can mix and match. Let's see how many anarcho-fascists are out there!
 

Tetchytyke

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I'm not entirely sure that I'd describe Islam (or any religion, for that matter) as a political ideology.

Generally I'm a left-leaning liberatarian.

The libertarian part is straightforward. I don't care what you do so long as everyone is consenting, informed, safe and happy, and don't think the state should care either. Whether that's sexuality, sexual predilections, finances, drugs, whatever. If you want to do it, and you know the risks, and you're neither forcing others nor being forced, then crack on.

Economically I'm more of a lefty. The free market has many great benefits, but the simple fact is that the market needs checks and balances. Full disclosure and transparency is really the biggest one- companies shouldn't be able to hide in tax havens or behind false flags- and there needs to be a significant safety net for vulnerable people. I'm no socialist but I think essential services- water, sanitation, domestic energy, local public transportation- should not be part of the profit motive. I also support the right of workers to be able to collectively obtain better rights and wages, and the rights of trade unions should be extended.
 

Gutfright

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Are the National Socialist and Islamist options jokes?

No. Some people are Nazis, and some people are Islamists. The libertarian in me thinks that they should have the same opportunity to state their beliefs as everybody else.
 

Gutfright

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I'm not entirely sure that I'd describe Islam (or any religion, for that matter) as a political ideology.

Islam =/= Islamism

Islam is a religion.

Islamism is the political belief in a theocratic society based on Sharia law where power should lie with religious clerics instead of democratically elected leaders, for example.
 
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backontrack

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No. Some people are Nazis, and some people are Islamists. The libertarian in me thinks that they should have the same opportunity to state their beliefs as everybody else.

Well that's by no means an exhaustive list. Don't Nazis come under 'other'?
 

Gutfright

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Well that's by no means an exhaustive list. Don't Nazis come under 'other'?

National Socialist is just another term for Nazi, which comes from the German word Nationalsozialismus.

Both 'National Socialist' and 'Islamist' are labels some people choose for themselves. That's why both options appear on the poll.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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If we're mature, then it shouldn't. Let's keep going until the usual subjects drag it off topic and then insult you when you claim it is.

I am a Conservative...but you all know that. I am also a Catholic, which means universal, some like me do not use the term Roman Catholic as that signifies something NOT universal.

To the comment above, all that I can respond with is a phrase from John 8:7..
He who is without sin amongst you, let him be the first to cast the stone"
 

GatwickDepress

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Note that the term Islamist isn't used by Muslims or Islamists - the word is a western creation - so if anyone on here did fit the definition of Islamist, they wouldn't identify as one.

What would I identify as? I don't really know. I'd identify as a Muslim over any other choice, but a lot of my views and choices match that of the European definition of liberal.
 

NY Yankee

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I'm a moderate democrat. As most of you know, I'm a black American (hopefully British in the near-future) in my early 30's

I support LGBT rights, though I'm against people being able to use bathrooms based on their gender preference. That could be abused (example: a man pretending to identify as a female just so he could enter a women's restroom and check out women)

I think that the governments should provide benefits for the less fortunate, IF those people are willing to work. I also think that both race and income should determine who receive benefits

I'm anti-war. George W. Bush used the 9/11 attacks as a pretense for settling a personal grudge with Saddam Hussein. By doing so, he destabilized the entire Middle East. The UK, who felt obligated to help the US after World War 2, got sucked into the Iraq conflict. Now, all of Western Europe is being targeted by terrorists thanks to George W. Bush

I think people should be able to practice Islam as long as they don't abuse it (i.e. forcing their beliefs on others, Sharia Law)

I couldn't care less about abortions. I'm neutral about that.

I think that gun control treats the symptom, not the disease. Instead of focusing on gun control, a country should focus on why a person is violent in the first place

I obviously want more money to be invested in mass transit
 
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Gutfright

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I think that the governments should provide benefits for the less fortunate, IF those people are willing to work. I also think that both race and income should determine who receive benefits

I'm not sure I agree with that.

Should a dirt-poor white family really receive less than a similarly impoverished black family?

And, as Asian-Americans earn more than white people in the US, should poor Asians receive less in benefits than white folks do?
 

Tetchytyke

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I support LGBT rights, though I'm against people being able to use bathrooms based on their gender preference. That could be abused (example: a man pretending to identify as a female just so he could enter a women's restroom and check out women)

I understand why people have this gut reaction. But logically it makes no sense.

It's very hard to "check out women" behind a locked toilet door. There are easier ways of perving on people than dressing up in the clothes of another gender, hiding in a toilet cubicle and then trying to surreptitiously peek over/under the cubicle wall. People who are identifying as a gender and using the bathroom of that gender are not perverts, they just need a wee. You share bathrooms with gay men and, presumably, don't give it a second thought, even though they might want to check you out.

It's just a gut emotional reaction. I get why people have it, but really, I'm with Bruce Springsteen on the recent North Carolina laws.

</off topic>
 

backontrack

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National Socialist is just another term for Nazi, which comes from the German word Nationalsozialismus.

I know that, I was merely stating that many other labels people use come under 'other'. Heck, some people even call themselves 'Jedi'.

I am a Conservative...but you all know that. I am also a Catholic, which means universal, some like me do not use the term Roman Catholic as that signifies something NOT universal.

To the comment above, all that I can respond with is a phrase from John 8:7..
He who is without sin amongst you, let him be the first to cast the stone"

Meh. It's not as if you'll cast that stone. Telling me about it is all well and good, but it's just not necessary. I notice that you do not deny what I said, so why say 'nobody's perfect'? It doesn't change anything.

As you'll know, I'm a socialist, and proud of it. I also like Father Ted.
 
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GatwickDepress

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I support LGBT rights, though I'm against people being able to use bathrooms based on their gender preference. That could be abused (example: a man pretending to identify as a female just so he could enter a women's restroom and check out women)
I don't think you've ever met a transgender individual or a sex offender.

Voyeurs don't need to enter a bathroom to check out women, and if a sex offender wishes to go into a women's bathroom, then he will. What he won't do is claim to be transgender.
Denying a marginalised section of society rights based on a hypothetical strawman is ludicrous. It's exactly the same sort of argument like "gay marriage paves the way for incest".

This isn't an attack on you by the way, sorry if it sounds personal. I just think it's a incredibly harmful argument.


I think that the governments should provide benefits for the less fortunate, IF those people are willing to work. I also think that both race and income should determine who receive benefits.
I disagree with race, but I can agree with income. I'd also add that companies should pay employees a minimum wage that minimises the amount of benefits a person needs to claim - obviously excepting things that are out of the companies control: disability payments, child tax credits etc.

I obviously want more money to be invested in mass transit
That I can agree with. It's a pity there's not enough high speed rail in America! There would be something awfully romantic about catching a high speed train from Grand Central to Los Angeles.
 

DynamicSpirit

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Since so far, 10% of those who've voted have ticked 'Islamist', I'd say it's a fair bet that not everyone is taking this poll very seriously!

Since my views are a mixture of socialist, environmentalist, Christian democrat, libertarian, social democrat, and liberal (and I ticked 'democratic socialist' too since I don't see any difference between that and 'socialist') I wonder if I can claim the prize for having the highest number of labels ;)
 

Gutfright

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Since so far, 10% of those who've voted have ticked 'Islamist', I'd say it's a fair bet that not everyone is taking this poll very seriously!

We also have a National Socialist, so I hope you're right!

Since my views are a mixture of socialist, environmentalist, Christian democrat, libertarian, social democrat, and liberal (and I ticked 'democratic socialist' too since I don't see any difference between that and 'socialist') I wonder if I can claim the prize for having the highest number of labels ;)

Doing a bit of maths, we have 45 votes between 31 people. If you voted for 7 labels that means that, in theory, someone else could have selected nine labels (29 x 1 label, +1 x 7 labels, +1 x 9 labels = 45)
 

Gutfright

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Was the original intention that only one vote per person could be entered upon the poll?

No. I wanted people to be able to "mix and match" in order to more accurately reflect their views (eg Libertarian Socialist, Environmentalist Fascist etc)

The jury's still out on whether it was a good idea or not!
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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No. I wanted people to be able to "mix and match" in order to more accurately reflect their views (eg Libertarian Socialist, Environmentalist Fascist etc)

The jury's still out on whether it was a good idea or not!

My view, for what it is worth, though totally unrealistic of course, is to give a split decimal percentage of a person's single allowable cast vote in cases that you state.

Otherwise, one person can have far more votes recorded than the normal poll where only one vote per person is allowed.
 

Gutfright

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My view, for what it is worth, though totally unrealistic of course, is to give a split decimal percentage of a person's single allowable cast vote in cases that you state.

Otherwise, one person can have far more votes recorded than the normal poll where only one vote per person is allowed.

Possibly, although how I could do so is beyond my ken.

One thing I find interesting is the labels that (thus far) nobody has chosen.

No anarchists, which makes sense I guess as the railways are inherently hierarchical what with their centrally-planned timetables.

No fascists either, even though Mussolini did make the trains run on time.

And nobody would label themselves as being a nationalist, which I admit to finding a bit of a surprise.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Possibly, although how I could do so is beyond my ken.

One thing I find interesting is the labels that (thus far) nobody has chosen.

No anarchists, which makes sense I guess as the railways are inherently hierarchical what with their centrally-planned timetables.

No fascists either, even though Mussolini did make the trains run on time.

And nobody would label themselves as being a nationalist, which I admit to finding a bit of a surprise.

Just as a matter of interest, why do you make mention of railways in your explanation above. I thought the poll was about political labels.?

Remember "The Life of Brian" and the Judean Peoples Front and The People's Front of Judea...:D
 
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Gutfright

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Just as a matter of interest, why do you make mention of railways in your explanation above. I thought the poll was about political labels.?

Remember "The Life of Brian" and the Judean Peoples Front and The People's Front of Judea...:D

I remember the Judean Peoples Front and The People's Front of Judea (splitters!).

I made mention of the railways because the poll is hosted on RailUK forums. I assume most people who visit this website have at least a passing interest in trains.
 

fowler9

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I find nationalists bizarre. Identifying themselves purely on the basis of where they happen to have been born seems strange to me. Where they happen to have been born must encompass all kinds of different people whom they probably don't agree with. Anyway. Just my opinion. Ha ha.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Can I ask a serious question about the political labels in your poll. You appear to have disregarded the following:-

Scottish Nationalist.....quite different to the bland one named in the poll
Plaid Cymru
Democratic Unionist
Sinn Fein
Alliance
Ulster Unionist.

These are all fully accredited political parties.
 
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