Its funny, how everybody I meet thinks that I am very Left-Wing. I am actually not. I am Centre-Left. I dont even support nationalising industry beyond what currently remains of it! Apart from the Health Service, of course, which is the one sector where I think further state control is necessary (Privatised services have to be re-nationalised, basically.) And the railways, where I think expiring franchises should be taken back into public ownership. I self-define as a Social Democrat-Somebody who believes that strong public services and a strong welfare state, funded through high taxation, is the best way toward building a fair, just, and equal society, where wealth and power is in the hands of the many and not the few. I am also a Social Liberal and a Green/Environmentalist/Libertarian (I have become more Libertarian than I was previously as of late). I believe in worker-owner co-operation, through the expansion of Co-Operative businesses. But, businesses have to obey the same laws and be subject to the same restrictions and regulations as the rest of us-which is why I take a very dim view on tax evasion. The spirit of co-operativism has to underline every action that a Social Democratic Government takes-it must balance out what is good for ordinary workers as well as business owners. We should aim toward a long-term, balanced redistribution of wealth, rather than a sudden and complete redistribution of wealth (Through a wealth tax, or a Communist/Hard Left approach to redistribution), that would hurt the wealth creators at the top, because I recognise that Capitalism is not going to go anywhere, and we need them as much as they need us. It may sounds boring and unimaginative and moderate, but it works. Look at Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and now Germany to name a few states that have followed a similar Social Democratic Model. They are role models of equality and prosperity for us all to follow.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 21:50:24 +0000