I've stayed more or less the same, I suppose. Left or center left on the economic slide, and on the libertarian side of the other. I have become more libertarian in some matters, but considerably more authoritarian in others, particularly concerning religion. Unlike some of my friends who are also vocally atheist, I strongly support the union of state and church we have here in Norway, because what it has resulted in is the secular state utterly castrating the church and forcing it to adjust its theology to accommodate every secular law that is passed, thereby making it into something which most of its nominal adherents pay lip service towards at best. This is a brilliant system which we should never scrap, but instead do our best to impose on other faiths than our by now watered-down Lutheran Christianity, too. The Muslims in particular are a prime choice for next target.
I'm also a strong believer in a solid welfare state, not so much because I believe it is morally right as because I believe that it's more economically sound than having a weak one or not having one at all would be. My belief that it also creates more security and safety helps too.
The trend to me seems to be that having insufficient welfare policies generates increased levels of crime. Sure, some people will feel pressured to work harder or look for work more ardently, but a lot of people are going to opt for the "easy" way out of their economical difficulties, and turn to crime. This will in turn victimize a number of presumably innocent people and businesses, costing society money. A bigger police force will need to be hired, costing society money. As the criminals are caught (those of them who are), they will have the right to a fair trial. Lawyers, judges and other court staff will have to be maintained in sufficiently high numbers and paid wages, costing society money. The inevitable retrials will cost society even more money. Then the criminals go to prison, maybe for years. They'll have to be housed, fed and clothed, costing society money. Prison guards will have to be trained and paid, costing society money. The prison itself will have to be maintained, costing society money. As the very frosting on the cake, there'll be a priest attending to the fictional spiritual needs of the prisoners, and he costs society money, too! And when the prisoners are finally released after however long they've been spending behind walls, chances are that the only thing they've actually learned is how to become more efficient criminals, and so the entire circle starts again. And all the money sustaining this process comes out of the regular taxpayer's pocket. And it all costs more in the end than maintaining a decent welfare state would have done.
Having a strong welfare state means I need to worry less for my own and my property's safety from random desperadoes. Having to worry less makes me able to concentrate more on other things, and spend less money on private security measures. It keeps the streets more or less free of annoying strangers who pester random passersby for pocket change, and the ones I do meet, I can snub with a clear conscience, knowing that unless they pretty much actively resist getting their basic needs covered, it will happen. And all this for less money than the alternative would cost me.
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Topic: Where do you stand politically? (Read 31261 times)