How much have your views changed?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Significantly. I've flirted with both quasi-libertarianism and neo-conservatism. At this point, there is no easy description of my views. My "values"--if you could call them that--at this point center on a vague preference for social order and a cynical acceptance that knowing what set of rules create the best society is a Sisyphian task that we will be lucky to have a good grasp of in our lifetimes. This is capped by despondence. Above all, however, the rules are simple--hope to devise a system by which man can live alongside man with vague respect for rights and privileges, but with the acknowledgement that a number of these are socially constructed. People must be tied into a system in order to be properly tied to the system--this depends greatly on social integration. As such, instruments of exclusion used by those in power are usually to their detriment, and the smartest "social managers" would do well to assimilate those on the outs into the existing order, rather than creating in them an angry minority. When your system is one that functions properly, goods are distributed, those of merit and loyalty rise, and the people shall prosper.

I generally espouse the same view, though far less elegantly.

We should really talk at some point, since it seems we have come to the same conclusions and interpretations independently of each other, on several fronts like the one above.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

[Greedo punched first]

I have become slightly more left-leaning. I am what would be called a "progressive-leaning libertarian."

[Greedo punched first]

Is anyone else here a progressive-leaning libertarian like me? That is basically a right-libertarian with some progressive views. I am a right-libertarian who supports raising the minimum wage, passing anti-discrimination laws, environmentally friendly policies, expanding Medicare and Medicaid, fairly progressive taxation, and fair regulation of the market. I also hold several right-libertarian beliefs like supporting balancing budgets, oppose socialized medicine and free college, supporting school choice, supporting property rights, supporting gun rights, support for market-based solutions instead of a large welfare state, and being pro-free trade.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I was a right-wing populist around 2006. I shifted to a moderate Republican around 2008 before becoming an an-cap Libertarian in 2009. I moderated as a Libertarian until I switched back to being a Republican in 2014. I have gradually become more conservative since then, but my views are pretty set by now.

[AN63093]

My views haven't changed much (if any), since I was old enough to start having any coherent views at all, which was maybe 20 years ago, give or take.  I've always been, above all, a pragmatist.  Effective execution of policy has always been more important to me than the policies themselves or ideology.  I've also recognized that no party, at least in the modern era, is close to my "ideal society," so you gotta just work with what ya got.

I get this mostly from my parents.  From a cultural and socioeconomic standpoint, they'd be what you'd call stereotypical "Rockefeller Republicans," although they frequently voted for both parties (and actually the winner of every presidential election since they started voting), and would criticize and compliment both sides of the aisle.  So I learned early on to see most things in varying shades of gray.

I did have a brief libertarian streak back when I was in college.  Though this had little to do with the ideology and more with the fact that it amused me to engage some of my more dim-witted left-leaning professors, who were probably expecting to get talking points from Rush Limbaugh or someone like that, and not Nozick.  I particularly enjoyed it when I could betray that I had actually read more Engels than they had, and expose them for being a charlatan.  That and libertarianism was pretty convenient for giving me a good philosophical justification for not wanting to share my money beyond "I'm selfish" (well, at that time, it was more of my parents' money).  

Of course, I've grown up considerably since then.  There is nothing quite so uncouth as seeing someone naive and impressionable crack open one of Ayn Rand's ghastly novels for the first time.  I do get a good chuckle out of it though.

[TheSaint250]

It was pretty recently that I became more pro-choice (on the libertarian stance of "it's decided"). I personally don't like abortion, but that's been decided.

Also, on the minimum wage, I support a moderate increase ($9/hr or so) as an short-term increase. It'll increase at some time, so I wouldn't mind small increments.

I also became a big supporter of a flat-tax system.

The final "major" change is, because of Trump, I've formed views on trade (never really concerned myself with it much before): free-trade deals but push for fair free-trade deals.

Everything else (pro-SSM, pro-stopping global warming, anti-war, pro-peace through strength, pro-school choice) has been relatively the same.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Back in 08-10 I was a Lib Dem and classical liberal, then austerity and the coalition pushed me radically leftwards and I became a left communist heavily into Marxism. The past few years I've been drifting steadily towards the centre. Suppose I'm a milquetoast socialist/social democrat now.

[SNJ1985]

I have moved slightly to the left on economic issues over the past few years.

[Mr. Smith]

Started off as a stereotypical anti-war liberal as a teenager, but moved more and more to the right during college on social issues,  but this last election has seen that head full circle a bit.

[jaichind]

Core of my political beliefs mostly in place by middle of elementary school which consist of extreme anti-communism and extreme atheism.  

Economic policy has been the most consistent.   I remember in 3rd grade getting into an argument with my aunt and uncle, who ironically are entrepreneurs.  They said to me "The purpose of money is to help others in need."  I said "No, the purpose of money is to make more money."  Not much has changed since.

I was mostly conservative on social issues in elementary and middle school but mostly moved to a Libertarian position by early high school even as my personal position have stayed conservative.   I was pro-Life and anti-Gay marriage back in middle school but was pro-Choice and pro-Gay marriage by high school.

On the national question which was mostly driven by my extreme anti-Communism, during elementary school I had moderate levels of Chinese identity but a fairly strong Taiwan regionalism and was for Taiwan independence, if not only to support free speech and the ability for people to speak out in favor of Taiwan Independence.   When I immigrated to USA in middle school I started to migrate toward Chinese nationalism would had mostly became a Chinese ultra-nationalist by high school.

Within the Chinese political context I was anti-KMT in elementary school and even more anti-CCP.  I became pro-KMT by middle school as I shifted toward Chinese nationalism even as I remained anti-CCP.  In the early 1990s as the CCP moved toward Chinese nationalism and capitalist policies I moved to a position of critical support of CCP even as I started to back off my total support for the KMT as the KMT itself moved somewhat away from Chinese nationalism toward a mixed Chinese nationalism Taiwan regionalism position.

In the USA context I was always for GOP since middle school when I moved here and was quite activate in various GOP activities and other right wing groups in high school and college.  In the 2003-2008 period I did not vote GOP due to the Iraq War and mostly voted Libertarian the entire time.  I came home to GOP in 2008 mostly due my vitriolic opposition to Obama.  My DW had a lot to do with it has her vitriolic opposition to Obama was even greater that of my during the 2008 election and she influenced me to  come back to vote GOP.  Although after the election my intensity of opposition to Obama overtook my DW.

[smoltchanov]

Well, i was born in Moscow and raised in Moscow school, being (as almost everybody else) a member of "Komsomol" (Young communist league), so, it's natural that i was at least a socialist then (though when i began to think i began to prefer "socialism with a human face", like those Czech communist tried to create in 1968). Since my University years i became essentially a centrist in "western" sense of the word (more so on social issues, i.e. - always pro-environment, pro-choice and so on  (though i needed some evolution on LGBT rights - initially i was for "civil unions" only), more conservative on fiscal one's). But - absolutely anti-communist and anti-socialist (i still shudder when i hear these words). By russian statndards this is a rightist position, BTW... Here i remain until now. I have a some sort of individualistic, or, may be anti-party (any party, in fact) streak too: hate to have anyone telling me what i "must" or "must not" do, and giving "advice" i didn't solicited. Not surprisingly - i wouldn't be "at home" in any party - being it in US or other country. So, a committed Indie, who believes first of all in soundness of his own deeds, and is accountable mostly to myself and the law...

[Lechasseur]

I grew up as a Blue Dog Democrat (my parents were), when I was 16 I realised I was a Republican (at least at federal level) and became a neo-conservative Republican. In the last two years I've returned to a lot of Blue Dog Democratic beliefs on economics, I'm much more skeptical of intervening abroad and I've shifted to the right on things such as immigration, so now I'd describe myself as an economically populist social conservative (but I still vote Republican, that being said I don't really fit into either party, and I'd happily vote for a conservative Democrat like John Bel Edwards).

[The Govanah Jake]

From around 2012 onward's was when i started to get a interest in politics. In the beginning in 2012-2013 i would often consider myself a Socialist to Democratic Socialist and believed that the means of production/output of societal industry should be co-owned by the workers/unions and the state/federal government both working together to control what that output was. However i was always on the more capitalist side of the ideology also supporting exchanges on a market level as long as they were regulated and well managed and so that is where the Democratic Socialist Part came in and ditched full socialist around 2014 or near the midterm that year. I then became a Libertarian socialist rejecting state control of the economy and emphasizing civil liberties. I however supported the state. I briefly partook a little in regular libertarian early in 2015 and became a moderate libertarian (Due to my still Left Economic views) but supported a free market and lack of regulations that aren't for protection of the individual from predators and monopoly's but soon realized it wasn't for me. Left-libertarianism supporting anti-authoritarianism but also supporting a state to maintain egalitarianism and regulation of the free market. Around the time of the stumping of Jeb! in Late 2015 to early 2016 i left Left Libertarianism in favor of a form of Social Democracy and became more populist in nature with the candidates of the 2016 presidential election and rampantly became a isolationist and fair trader abandoning my previous positions of free trade between all the working peoples of the world. I also moderated a little on Economics (As in fully supporting a regulated capitalist system that is fair and protects the consumer from financial interests while ditching my previous views in favor of a social programs welfare net like a government run healthcare system) while still maintaining my libertarian views on civil liberty's. And this comes to the present day.

[Dr. MB]

A while back, my views were pretty different - for one I strongly opposed marijuana legalization. A while afyer that, during the 2016 primary campaign season I adopted most of Bernie Sanders’ views, religiously watched The Young Turks, and quietly hated Hillary. After that, I slowly evolved into what I am today (not a huge jump but I developed a lot of opinions which don’t neatly fit in with any ideology, they are all over the place on the political spectrum).

I’ve flip-flopped a lot on abortion, and never have really been solidly pro-choice or pro-life.

[Leftbehind]

Certainly not radically - I've warmed and cooled to certain things over the years, but I've always been a strong collectivist who identifies as a socialist - one who would be classified as a fellow traveller but one who could also vote social democrat. I joined Labour for the 2010 leadership election, hoping to steer it back left and was left fairly discontented at times under Miliband but I simply wouldn't have joined under New Labour. Obviously with the arrival of Corbyn I'm much more contented, we're on the right course and that's all you can really ask for in this clusterf**k.

[YE]

A while back, my views were pretty different - for one I strongly opposed marijuana legalization. A while afyer that, during the 2016 primary campaign season I adopted most of Bernie Sanders’ views, religiously watched The Young Turks, and quietly hated Hillary. After that, I slowly evolved into what I am today (not a huge jump but I developed a lot of opinions which don’t neatly fit in with any ideology, they are all over the place on the political spectrum).

I’ve flip-flopped a lot on abortion, and never have really been solidly pro-choice or pro-life.

My story is kind of similar. Was pretty left wing economically from the beginning but held some stupid beliefs (like I was stupid enough to think climate change was a hoax untill like 2013, and given that I'm a meteorology student is a bit embarrassing). I didn't care too much about social issues in my early years of high shool, but I supported gay marriage, open borders, and gun control and opposed legalizing weed. Then in 2015 (my senior year in HS), I basically adopted Bernie Sanders's positions on most issues (and started watched left leaning YouTubers like TYT along with lurking on Atlas, which certainly helped in that regard), and while Trump's election itself didn't change my opinions on most of the issues, it basically flipped my rhetoric from more of an establishment Dem to a populist one. In 2017, I drifted rightward socially on a couple issues to what I am now; becoming pro-gun (despite never having touched a non-toy gun in my life) and moderating on immigration.

[HillGoose]

I've been a neocon since I was 12.

[Kingpoleon]

A while back, my views were pretty different - for one I strongly opposed marijuana legalization. A while afyer that, during the 2016 primary campaign season I adopted most of Bernie Sanders’ views, religiously watched The Young Turks, and quietly hated Hillary. After that, I slowly evolved into what I am today (not a huge jump but I developed a lot of opinions which don’t neatly fit in with any ideology, they are all over the place on the political spectrum).

I’ve flip-flopped a lot on abortion, and never have really been solidly pro-choice or pro-life.

Huh. I thought that was just me.