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Description

You want government out of people's personal lives, but you appear to desire some continued government control over people's economic activities. There is no political party that represents your views. The Green Party does run many candidates with similar views, but the overall Green Party platform is much more socialistic than you are. You would need a mix of Democratic, Green, and Libertarian politicians in office to get the balance of freedom and social justice you desire. The ratio between these depends on how high up your dot is on the chart.

Approximately 12% of the takers of this quiz scored in this area, 18% for all liberals outside the centrist circle.

Political Parties and Other Organizations

The Libertarian Party was created to radically cut government—more than you want. Nonetheless, you might want to check them out to see if you want to add some Libertarians to the mix of D's and R's currently in power, since the D's and R's are making government bigger than you want.

Not happy with the existing parties? Would you like to see a political party that was concerned about freedom and equality? Would you like to shrink big government and big corporations? I am contemplating starting such a party. This is not a trivial undertaking! However in my manual on how to start a new political party I seriously address the challenges inherent in third party politics in the United States. Third parties generally fail, because the system is rigged against third parties. However, there are a couple of interesting loopholes...

The Democratic Freedom Caucus. Yes, there is a caucus within the Democratic Party that calls for smaller government, but like other Democrats, they are greatly concerned with equality.

Freedom and Equality

The rich are Paid to BE Rich. This strikes many as unfair, and they advocate bigger government to do something about it. What they don't realize is that the government is doing much of the paying. The old money rich are subsidized. So I started this blog to expose the hidden subsidies -- without the unnecessary conspiracy theories that usually accompany such exposes.

If you are a Christian as well as a liberal, check out God's Welfare System. This article shows how the poor were supposed to be taken care of during Old Testament times. There are some ideas there that are useful to this day. And you get to have fun with Republican members of the Religious Right when you can point out how the Law of Moses calls for an extensive welfare system while at the same time calling for no money for the police or the military.

Fun

Are you troubled with office managers trying to manipulate your mind with "inspirational" messages? If so, visit despair.com for your demotivational needs.

Child of Fortune, by Norman Spinrad. Hippies in space. It's practically mandatory to be one—for a while. Beautifully written, with several languages blended into English. Besides being a great story, it is an in depth meditation on how to do away with wage slavery. Fascinating ideas on career choice and the ultimate welfare system.	The Futurological Congress, by Stanislaw Lem. Imagine a utopia—or is it dystopia—based on hallucinogenic drugs. Inspired by life in communist Poland. Quite a hoot!
Alastor, by Jack Vance. A collection of three light science fiction novels connected by the same broad background. The third, "Wyst," is by far the best, and the one that is relevant. "Wyst" is a comedy that takes place in something much closer to the Marxist ideal than was ever achieved during the 20th century. Takes a fair look, both sympathetic and skeptical, towards a true "Egalistic" society. The amusing characters and dialog alone make this well worth reading.	The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. A utopian anarcho-socialist society is contrasted with a neighboring propertarian society. Well written, and unlike many utopian novels, LeGuin plays fair.
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, by Stanislaw Lem. A dark comedy that takes place in the ultimate bureaucracy. This one is hard for me to describe, but it's very funny.

Economics

Regardless of your political values, economics is worth knowing...

Think economics is just about predicting interest rates? Think again! Marginal Revolution is a very interesting economics blog written by professors at George Mason University.

Hidden Order by David Friedman. A fun introduction to economics. Will have you understanding non-obvious results from the first chapter. Covers many unusual topics such as the economics of marriage, elections, and checkout lines.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley. Who are these rich people, and how did they get that way? The facts may surprise you. Important implications for public policy and personal finance.

Operating a Government

Making government behave the way it ought to is challenging...

The Machinery of Freedom, by David Friedman. This book looks at the economics of government itself. What are the incentives of those who govern? To what degree are they motivated to promote the general welfare? The answer: not very much. For this reason Dr. Friedman is an anarchist. But you don't have to be in order to benefit from this book. Indeed, knowing the inherent difficulties in making government behave is more important for those who like government big than for those who like it small.

Lost Rights by James Bovard. Chilling documentation on why government is truly a "fearsome servant". News reports of how innocent-sounding intentions have often led to horrible injustice. Hard data on why the people need to keep a close watch on their government, and why many think that government should be kept small in order to make it easier to keep such a watch.