Give your defination

[Rickmur]

Never being one to follow politics all that much in my younger years and finding myself reading this forum more and more I figure I have an awful lot to learn. So with that being said what are your definations of the following terms:

Republicans
Democrats
Conseratives
Liberals
Right
Left
Socialism

And add any more that I might have missed.

[Strut&Rut]

I'll add the most important, the defining line that links all of the above...

Moderate

[Strut&Rut]

1) Left........................Moderate.............. .........Right
2) Liberal.......Libertarian/Constitutionalist..........Conservative
3) Democrat...............Independent................ ...Republican



Socialism is a term too broadly based for a political party or affiliation, as it in reality refers to a political system.

If I had to form a GRE analogy, I would do the following...

Communism:Socialism as is Republicemocracy

I think the two major parties within the US have become quite divided in the past 4 years. We all have different opinions of the Left/Right, but pretty much we can say peaceful free spending environmentalist tree-huggers Vs. fiscal tightwads expanding the use of natural resources with aggression...

Of more interest to me personally, is how most describe the middle group...

[JagMagMan]

I might add that liberals/leftists like to claim that they are moderates until they are elected! Even the liberals do not usually like the label of liberal!

[DougMD]

Here it is all in a simple story

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her
altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse
me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago,
but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet
above sea level. You are 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and
100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and I'm
still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're
going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you
expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you
were in before we met, but somehow now, it's my fault."

[trapper T]

In a nutshell the Left/Liberals/Democrats tend to believe that Gov't is the answer to our problems. Some like to call it Big Brother or a nanny state. They tend to beleive that the common folk aren't smart enough or motivated enough to help themselves, so that Gov't should intrude on their lives and tell them what's best for them.Conservatives/Right/Republicans tend to want less gov't control and more of a do it yourself, your capable type attitude. Socialism/Communism is bascially everyone works for the benefit of the State. All our equal in the fact that no matter how much you may earn it will go to Gov't then they will decide how much you get back, rmember the USSR? When they stood in lines to get everything(soup,bread,TP etc...) You would own nothing and the gov't would determine who gets what. Another example is modern day Cuba.The left really love ol' Fidel but how many of his own country men do you hear/see on the news riding a raft to Florida? Don't sound to appealing does it. You would be stripped of all your basic freedoms and religous beliefs ie: China. Communism has never worked and never will unless you are a despotic Dictator who can keep control over the people(keep'em dependent and you'll keep'em compliant). Look at Stalin,Lennin,Castro,and the like. Doesn't sound like something I want.

Socailism today you'll find in a lot of the Eruopeian contries where they are slowly moving toward a gov't like that of USSR, but you'll find that in those soceities that when they take and take and take form those motivated to create, acheive and contribute to a soceitey they will give up, case in point last week on a radio show I heard about economics, France for instant has a GDP( Gross Domestic Porduct) an indcator of their economy, that is less than all but two of our States? A country that produces far less thatn 48 of our states sounds pretty pathetic to me?

[slugman]

DougMD ...how true !

[Aught Six]

Libertarianism is what I define as a political system that advocates the very minimum amount of government necessary to ensure public order. In a nutshell, each individual is responsible for his/her actions and must earn his/her keep, not rely on government handouts or special protection. On the hand, we also believe that an individual should be free to do as he/she pleases, so long as the action(s) do not directly harm another person.

We are strongly against any form of government welfare, although private charities and the like are encouraged to aid people so long as its not by way of public tax dollars. Essentially what a person earns through work and does in his/her free time is none of Uncle Sam's concern.

www.lp.org

[eldeguello]

Republicans: People who used to think gov't was too big, and should be limited/cut back, but who are now a lot more like democrats than they should be

Democrats: People who believe that goverrnment needs to hold you by the hand from the cradle to the grave, because you are too stupid to look out for your own interests. Democrats believe that your paycheck belongs to the government, but that out of the goodness of their hearts, you may be permitted to keep a little of it from time to time.

Conservatives: People who believe in making changes only if it is absolutely necessary, which is damn rarely.

Liberals: Similar to, or interchangeable with, democrats. People whose OWN PERSONAL INTERESTS ARE NOT AT STAKE RIGHT NOW!!

Right: Conservatives, Fascists, Nazis, and people who keep asking you BROTHER, ARE YOU SAVED??

Left : Democrats, Liberals, Socialists and Communists to whom individual liberties are their worst nightmare!

Socialism: Extreme liberalism which advocates total government ownership and control of all production, communications, economic activities, and money! Like Communism, but if you disagree with Socialists, they merely put you in an asylum, rather than shooting you like the Commies do!

[Charley]

Republicans and Democrats are spinoffs from the same party, the Democratic-Republican party. The Republicans splintered in the late 1850s, and won thgeir first presidential race with Lincoln.
Today, there is not a tremendous difference between them.
Conservative and Liberal in the US USED to mean the interpertation of the Constitution. Conservatives said if the Constitution did not specificly allow an action, it was unconstitutional. Liberals said if the Constitution did not specificly prohibit an action, it was constitutional.
Right and Left are used interchangably with conservatives and liberals today.
Originally refered to the seating in the post revolutionary French congress. Conservatives sat together on the right side of the chamber, liberals sat together on the left side of the chamber.
Socialism is not a political system, IT IS AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM! (Hugh Gonzales, my seventh grade social studies teacher, pounded that into my head about 35 years ago).
Capitalism has the means of production privately owned. Production is run for the primary benefit of the owners, but secondary and tertiary benefits trickle down thru society.
Socialism has private ownership of the means of production, but government control to a greater or lesser degree. Production is run for the primary benefit of the goverment, with owners getting some benefit and society as a whole gets the left overs.
Communism has goverment owned means of production. Production is run for the benefit of the goverment, with society taking the far hind teat. Everyone (except party bigwigs) is equally miserable.

The US today is moderately socialist, IMO.