(hat tip to Barrie Wood for the title for the post (which was already being written)
Sometimes I do wonder…
I happily define my views as liberal, or perhaps libertarian. Unfortunately my view of liberalism seems to differ from many in the LibDems.
Mainly this seems to be because I think the state should keep out of almost every area of life, even to do things which appear to further the ends of liberalism. To quote Adam Smith “I have never known much good done by those who affect to trade for the public good“. This is especially true in the case of the state with its monopoly on the legal use of force.
To this end I am skeptical of the machinery of social engineering that is the welfare state, certainly the current setup needs liberalising which means reducing its size and scope to a minimum.
I am also very much an economic liberal. Economics cannot be separated from our lives. It is one of the (social) sciences of life. It is subject to the very same proviso as the rest of life - that government intervention will mess things up.
Thus taxes should be very low. Income tax should be a flat tax paid by the riches if it exists at all. Corporation tax is paid by employees and investors not companies so should be scrapped. Admittedly, the single tax (LVT) idea is attractive, I still need to look into it more though… I am generally supportive of the idea of green taxes (or Pigouvian taxes) although I don’t trust politicians and government not to mess it all up…
Whilst free trade is traditionally a Liberal policy, it doesn’t seem to be popular amongst many members of the current party, who prefer misnomers such as ‘fair trade’ and often fall into the trap of supporting those who appeal to the emotions for their own interests.
This support for minimal government does come from a ‘left wing’ approach - its to allow the masses to benefit, not particular classes, it is however seen as ‘right wing’ since the ‘left’ adopted a class based approach and the ‘right’ adopted a reactionary, and rather late in the day, attachment to some of the liberal program.
It also often assumed that economic liberalism involves support for corporations over individuals, this is not the case. The mistake was for some economic liberals to ally themselves with corporations against the state. This is okay to a limited extent, but the corporation is just like any group, will act in its own interests against those of others (not necessarily a bad thing that, although the corporation tends to be granted privileges by the state which is where the problems arise).
My other major difference with many in the party is over environmental issues. Too much I see extensions of government power being advocated to tackle environmental problems. I do not dispute much of the science behind climate change (only in those cases where scientists refuse to release their methodology and figures for scrutiny - that is bad science and such reports should be discarded as unreliable) although there are many many gaps in our knowledge of the climate (approximately 25% is understood well - the greenhouse gas science - there is much else which isn’t).
I am also skeptical about the effects of climate change. There is so much hysteria and alarmism that I simply don’t know what to take seriously and many of the effects seem to be able to be combated by technology and often just common sense.
I also support the use of nuclear power - or rather I support the opportunity for nuclear power to be used. It should not be banned, but costs should be born fully by private business and they should show they have measures in place to allow them to decommission. As with everything else, there should be no subsidy (those who dislike nuclear power should thank Thatcher for privatising the electricity network and exposing the high cost of nuclear power).
This I presume makes me seem pretty ‘right wing’ (although I do claim its more a rational, pre-socialist, radical left wing view) and out of step with much of the party.
That said, I think that my views are well founded within the traditions of the party. I passionately believe in equality before the law and in reducing privilege of elites and skepticism of power. Everyone has the right to be left alone and to pursue their own ends so long as they do not conflict with those equal rights of others.
I am also very concerned with civil liberties, it was this which drew me to the LibDems. The only party which has had a consistent line opposing ID Cards, which has raised concerns over many other civil liberties questions. The only party which has anything approaching a sensible law and order policy and immigration policy.
I am also a democrat (it being the least worst form of government) and the LibDem policies of parliamentary reform are a very good step in the right direction of accountability and effective oversight (and reduction of the volume of legislation).
I am also coming to the conclusion that a written constitution is a necessity, although I very much doubt that anything any party today would come up with would be any good…
What about the other parties? Well, considering my views on economics, some may suggest the Tories, but their economics are ever shifting for electoral gain and to privilege strategic sections. I also could not stomach being in the same party as some of their members. The social and cultural conservatism is abhorrent too as well as the authoritarianism. I cannot actively support such a party, let alone join it. I am of course happy to work with like minded Tories on specific issues, but the same goes for all other parties.
UKIP then? Many say they’re quite libertarian. I do agree with some of their policies, but a party founded on the principle of nationalism and withdrawal from the EU is not my cup of tea. I am an internationalist. I disagree with much of what the EU does, but those are not a disagreement with the concept of the EU I hold. There also appears to be a large thread of xenophobia present in the party.
I dismiss Labour, the Greens, the BNP etc without any further comment, it should be clear that my beliefs are largely opposed to them on many grounds (not least the fact that they’re all authoritarian).
There is then the question of non-affiliation. I know some prefer this option to affiliation with any party, I am currently happy however to be in a party which is of necessity a broad church and which values debate and free speech and is dedicated to at least some of my ideals and shares the roots of my philosophy.
I will also keep discussing with people when I think they’re wrong, and I hope people will discuss with me when they think I’m wrong. I’ve changed my mind several times when people have pointed things out to me or made good arguments in my time in the LibDems and my time blogging. I’m sure I will again. Like all of us, I am human and I err…
