Political Spectrum

Overheard:

Hay: "What's the name of that woman presenter on the Today program on Radio 4?"

Chairman: "I haven't the faintest - it's only a woman, so I don't notice the name."

I did a survey yesterday on The Political Compass which, worryingly, showed me to be leaning toward the Greens, but slightly less libertarian. I may be ideologically inclined toward the Greens, but I think some of their policies are just hare-brained and, due to their Utopian nature, could only be implemented through the auspices of (perversely) a benign dictatorship lasting a generation or more.

I believe this to be so due to a number of their policies being so radical that there would be a myriad unforeseen consequences, which if left to a mere 5 year term would result in them being booted out after their first stint - if indeed a revolution didn't force them out first.

Disbanding the armed forces is a bit silly when the history of Europe is the history of the balance of power. Upset the balance of power and you generally have a war on your hands.Not only that, but having a bunch of redundant, disgruntled, trained killers roaming the streets is perhaps not a recipe for social order.

The Greens' ideological stance against any form of nuclear is also irrational and unscientific when clean nuclear fusion is the answer to all our power needs for, literally, millions of years. To me, their stance smacks too much of woo-woo and shifts them into the territory of crystal gazers and homeopathists.

However, the juxtaposition of my political views and those of the Greens shows how narrow the gap is between sensible, Chairman-like rationality and the stonkingly idealistic, Utopian, utterly lunatic nutterdom of the Greens. It also shows how a survey is not the complete story.

The worrying thing, however, is the main parties all being in the upper right quadrant, with Labour and the Liberals becoming less socialist. No wonder the electorate is confused - the parties are all chasing the vote of the haves, leaving the have-nots to look after themselves. Must be the consequence of a more affluent society.